Paper Route

I got a paper route when I was in the 7th grade.  Dennis Rouch had been our paper boy for over 2 years and one day at school he asked me if I wanted his route.  He was going into 9th grade that fall and no one in high school would ever have a paper route.  When you entered high school in the little town where I grew up in Kansas during the early sixties you followed proper protocol.  Certain things were expected of a freshman boy entering high school in the mid sixties and other things were not cool for him to do.  Paper routes were not cool.  Anyone could name several  paper boys in the past who surrendered their paper route before starting their freshman year in high school.  So, with due consideration of the start of his freshman year and following proper protocol, Dennis recruited me to take his paper route.  After some discussion with my mom and an understanding with her that the route would be my total responsibility, I was happy to take the route. 

The town I lived in was divided in two parts for paper delivery.  The South route and the North route.  I got the South route from Dennis.  He said I should accompany him for a week to learn the route so when I took over I wouldn't miss anyone.  That seemed like a good idea to me. So for one week I trained to be a paperboy. 

The South route had 105 customers which was probably one half of the number of all the households in the south part of town.  Dennis was an excellent paperboy and his customers appreciated his effort.  He hurried home from school and quickly packed the papers his mother had rolled for him into his bicycle baskets and took off on his bike like a madman.  Dennis was fast and efficient and, as quickly as anyone possibly could, he peddled the 2.5 miles up and down the streets delivering the papers.   He threw the papers from the sidewalks or streets onto porches like a hunter shooting a rifle, accurate and sure handed.  A few customers wanted the paper inside a porch door or in some other special location.  Fast as lighting Dennis would stop his bike, put the kick stand down, grab a paper from his basket and deliver it to the requested location.  Then, back on his bike and off he peddled again. It took Dennis about 45 minutes to deliver the daily paper and a little longer to deliver the thicker and heavier Sunday papers which required returning home and reloading papers for the last half of the route.  No stopping, just peddle fast and throw accurately.  It took me 3 days to begin to get the route down pretty good.  The fourth day Dennis had me ride in front of him and signal with my arm at which houses he should throw a paper.  He would call out to me if I overlooked anyone.  I did good that day and on Friday, the fifth day of training, he had me deliver all the papers myself.  He rode along to coach me and I was happy I had forgotten only one customer.  He did say I should peddle faster but assured me that after I got the route down pat I would pick up my speed.  In the back of my mind I just didn't know how that was going to be possible because it seemed to me I was at my maximum output.  But, I didn't say anything.  I didn't want to alarm him for several reasons.  First, I didn't want him to change his mind about giving me his route and second, I really didn't want anymore days of training with him.  After we reached his house on that last day of training he went inside his house and told his parents I would do just fine and, just like that, I was now was the paperboy for the South route of the Daily Journal. 

So, beginning August first of that year and after 1 full week of training by the best paperboy you can imagine, those 105 customers on the South route got a new paperboy and new service.  Not everyone was happy.