Throughout my childhood, my parents gave me a small allowance, which allowed me to purchase a few small toys or some candy. I received this allowance once each week. I think it started at fifty cents a week, and was later increased to a dollar.
At first this seemed like a lot of money, but after a while I wanted more. I managed to squeeze a few extra dollars from my parents by doing various chores around the house. I soon tired of this, however, partly because there were only a limited number of chores to perform, and partly because my parents had this annoying habit of "donating" my allowance to the family when things got a little tight.
The solution was obvious. I needed to do chores for other people in the neighborhood.
A few years before, my dad had purchased a manual lawn mower. I don’t know if they even make these anymore. It consisted of a cylindrical drum containing two blades, mounted on two wheels, with a handle attached. It was intended to be pushed over the grass, where the blades did their work.
I towed this thing all over the neighborhood, offering to mow lawns for a whole dollar. However, I soon gave up this profession, as it was hell of a lot of work.
My dad must have taken pity on me, because he purchased a new power lawn mower. This was a great invention, as it enabled me to mow a lawn in a half hour, whereas before it took two hours or even more.
After that, I mowed lawns for an entire summer, making over a hundred dollars. This was my first "job" - I even had a few steady clients, whose lawns would be mowed on a weekly basis. I continued mowing lawns for several years, and eventually moved on to performing other small odd jobs around the neighborhood.
Unless otherwise noted, all photos and text is Copyright © Richard G Lowe, Jr.