The world has certainly changed as we know it. Now before you go off saying it is an old man looking far back, consider some of the things that have to be noticeable to all that have their eyes open.
Living back on the Canadian prairie, there were no McDonald's for a kid to work at. There were no pizza shops or sign holding jobs to obtain. There were no paper routes, or store shelves to stock. There were just mundane things for a kid to do.
The mundane things were things such as neighbors that needed their grass cut, their snow shovelled, and their gardens rototilled. Even on the edge of town, there was a farmer who needed his pig pens shovelled out. There was work, lots of it. It was hard work and it payed poorly - but it was work. I did all of the above. I cut grass with our old push mower. I suppose I was around 12 years of age or so. Down the street I would go pushing the mower with a gas can tied on the side looking for business. Most summers were hot and that was the time to make some money, because no allowances were ever given. Some days I would drive the rototiller down the road, well not drive I had to walk behind it because someone needed their gardens tilled to keep the weeds down amongst the rows. When that work ran out, it was over to the farmer's pig pens. For any kids complaining about standing behind the counter and asking if you want fries with that, I challenge you to a hot afternoon, cooped up with large dirty pigs and shovelling some of the most disgusting debris you will ever see, Hot, heavy and smelly - but it was a way to make money.
And what do we have today? Where I live, the illegals cut every one's grass. The paper routes are done by adults in cars, who throw papers over the roof to land somewhere in the vicinity of the intended yard. There are no gardens to speak of. The odd plant here and there, but nothing of significance and certainly nothing to sustain people in times of need.
The point is, we have nothing any more for the kids in that 12 - 16 age group. They have video games and computers and such but they have nothing out there, that teaches them how to make a dollar and how to learn the aspects of building a foundation of job functions for the future.
I could go on politically about what could change but that is not what this column is about. Those early jobs that I was able to do, helped me understand that if you want to survive, you had to work. That concept has not failed me yet, and I hope that the future generations will also have something that will teach them the value of job integrity and that it will be their foundation to a more secure future.
