Sam's Summer Service
Young author starts jack-of-all-trades business to raise money for a snorkel and mask.
July/August 1988
By Sam Casco
Mother's Children
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A junior jack-of-all-trades.
A couple of summers ago, when I was eight, I needed money for a snorkel and mask, because I like to swim on the bottom of a big river in our town. I am a rock hound and there are lots of nice rocks on the bottoms of rivers.
My mother told me that if I earned half of the money for the snorkel and mask, then she would pay the rest. I had to somehow earn $11, so I decided to start a business called Sam's Summer Service. My mother and I made up flyers listing the jobs I would do and their prices. I put copies in my parents' and friends' houses.
The first job I did was to clean my mother's car. I made 50¢ for cleaning the outside and 25¢ for cleaning the inside. Soon other people started hiring me. I picked rocks, shelled peas and weeded gardens.
One of the hardest jobs I had was picking up rocks in a small drainage ditch that goes past our church. First, I had to rake them up, then I had to put them in a bucket or cart and haul them to a bank and dump them over. When I came back the next day, there were more rocks in the ditch. They had come to the surface just like rocks in a garden do. I had to rake them up again! It was hard work, but it was worth it.
The easiest job I had was cleaning cars. I liked it because I did not have to run back and forth like I did picking rocks.
I also liked shelling peas because I could sit down and I hardly had to think about what I was doing. The reason I liked not having to think about it was because I could make up stories in my head and make money at the same time.
One of the funniest jobs I had was taking care of animals at a neighbor's house while they were away. First I had to feed the chickens while a bouncy puppy jumped all over me. The chickens usually got out of their pen, so I had to catch them and put them back in. Then I had to feed the puppy and another dog who ran away every time I let it out of the house. Then I had to go upstairs and feed chicks. Next I went downstairs and tried to find their white cat to give it medicine. Then I fed the cat and looked for the dog who liked to run away. When I found him, I brought him in the house.
