As a young lad I grew up in a place that would get 3 feet of snow. Guess what? The school buses were still coming. But when they didn't, it was a great time! Why? Money and fun!
I had brothers so the first one to grab the shovel got a head start on us but without a shovel I would go door to door asking people, "Do you have a shovel? I will shovel your driveway for $5." I would do 4 or 5 driveways and then I would head home, put my money in a piggy bank, grab my sled and meet the other kids on a local hill. They had done the same thing that day. You see, every driveway needed shoveling and $5 is a great price to pay versus an hour of being in the cold shoveling snow and ice and breaking your back. After sledding all day, the kids would meet at a pizza place where we paid for our own pizza. We didn't ask mom and dad. We were kids and we knew how to earn money and pay for things ourselves. Here is the 'thing', the locals who we knew were poor, were shoveling driveways also.
This kind of hard working mentality seems to have been lost but much worse, the lazy are encouraged to beg on our street corners and their vagrancy perpetuated by our politicians and their followers. If you are offended by that statement then you are probably part of the problem. Are there exceptions? Of course.
Have you ever said, "I can't afford that." Well, pick up a shovel.
Have you ever started a GoFundMe because you don't have any money saved? Pick up a shovel.
Are you homeless? Pick up a shovel.
Ever asked people for money to buy your kids presents for Christmas because you don't have any money? Well if you pick up a shovel now, you won't have that problem at the end of this year. I see that request all the time on social media during the holidays.
Don't give me excuses, I have seen old 'babushkas' in foreign lands doing work that can make an American laborer cringe. I have seen 5 year old boys carrying bales of hay on their backs for miles. Don't make me pull out the pictures.
Now we see people standing on corners of our streets begging for money when they can pick up a shovel. They depend on you. Ever seen the sign, "Don't feed the bears?" Do you know why? They become lazy and will depend on you for food. There should not be a single person on a street corner begging right now. Not one!
Now if you don't want to pick up a shovel, I understand. But don't complain to the rest of us when an issue arises. Don't start a GoFundMe because everyone you know will have read this also and know that you failed to pick up a shovel.
I am amazed that no matter what the season, I don't get anyone knocking on my door to shovel my driveway, mow my lawn, clean my gutters, pressure wash my driveway, wash my car. But people will go mailbox to mailbox, doorstep to doorstep, stealing mail and packages. Seriously. Where are the young entrepreneurs and why do I see people begging on street corners when there is so much opportunity?
We have a problem in Washington. I think we all know what it is. Feel free to comment below. Be pithy and try not to make an arse of yourself because we will share it.