I started delivering papers when I was 9. Started with the afternoon Examiner and 80 houses. By the time I was 10, I had over 200 houses between the morning Chronicle and my afternoon routes. Had to go around collecting once a month. That took a week of evenings after school to do. It was a pain in the neck. Never knew when people would be home or who was stiffing you and just wouldn't answer the door. Both papers owned by the Hearst family.
Bought my first BMX Mongoose Motomag with that paper route money and eventually my first 900.00 car with the money that I'd saved.
When I was 13, my folks took us to San Simeon and we took a tour of that castle. Wow, it was something! Kinda felt like I owned part of it for all of the damn papers that I'd delivered in the rain! Like maybe ONE of the gold plated sink strainers that are all over the place
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That castle is certainly something!