Rather Disturbing Indeed

I read this article over at CNN Money today.

After trying to avoid anything written about the infamous (and I do mean infamous, not famous) MJ, I finally clicked on like the only link that was wasn't about him. Ok, maybe there were a couple more, but this one perked my interest as it declared to have the "Top Five Most Dangerous Kid Careers."

Funny, it didn't have the entertainment industry in it, and with all the hoopla over MJ, I would think that might be #1.

But I digress...What I found rather disturbing about this article was it proclaimed mowing yards as one of the most dangerous jobs for a kid.

What the fuck? How many other jobs can a kid get?

Here it comes...I feel it, and I really don't want to say it, but it's going to come out of my fingers anyway.

WHEN I WAS A KID....Fuck I'm old...

When I was a kid mowing yards was my main source of income. In fact, by age 10 I owned my own lawnmowers, and weed whackers. My brother was my partner, and we had two kids that worked for us.

I figured out that I probably raked in about $150 a week as a ten year old. $150 of profit mind you, as my Dad painstakingly showed us economic reality by requiring us to purchase our lemons and sugar and cups for our first lemonade stand. He threw the water in for free though...What a guy!

$150 was quite a bit of money for a 10 year old, and it really was a lot of money in what 1981, '82? In the winter the money slowed down a bit, but we still made pretty good money as global warming hadn't changed the snowfall in Chicago yet and people were always willing to pay more for snow shoveling then mowing.

So I was a pretty rich little kid, and my parents decided we needed to learn how to save money, so most of it went into the bank, whether we wanted it to or not. As a result, I bought my first new car 6 months before I had a drivers license, and I paid cash for it. Hey, Ford was running a special. It killed to have it sitting in the driveway, but I saved a buck or two getting it early.

I just wanted to let anyone else who read that article know that I mowed yards and survived to tell the tale. I also learned the value of earning money, saving money, and being responsible. If you are willing to put your child's life in danger, I would highly recommend this occupation for children.

Now probably a lot of people will take these dangers seriously, so maybe these types of people should let their kids into the entertainment industry. Look how good MJ, The Culkins, and Lindsey Lohan have turned out.

At least you'll know they'll never go to jail.

Oppps. Did I say that out loud?