"PAPER ROUTES"

It all started with Michael and Jeremy. As parents, we thought if the boys had a "paper route", they could learn about earning money and learn about responsibility. I am sure the results had some value, but that is debatable to this day. I am a little fuzzy on the details, so if I am wrong on any accounts, I reserve the right to correct when I am told that I am getting too old. I am thinking they were 10 and 12, or close to those ages. They got a Phoenix Gazette route, which was the afternoon edition of the AZ Republic. It is no longer around. So, six days a week they would go over to the neighborhood to the south of where we lived to pick up their 40 or so papers and deliver the "daily news". They delivered the same area and south to Southern Ave.
Then there was Sunday. The Sunday paper was the Republic. Thus a little bigger and heavier. So guess who helped them on Sunday mornings--- meeeeeeeeee. I don't remember if I picked up the inserts and heads, or if they were brought to the house, but we inserted at the house, and then delivered. We had the Impala stationwagon, so the boys sat on the tailgate and ran the papers to each house and the apartments. For more learning of responsibility and how to earn money, they got to collect from their customers. They did okay until it came to the "apartment" people. It seemed like the "Apt" people always had an excuse why they couldn't pay, and would push it to the point of being cancelled, and then would pay. The earnings weren't big, but the learning was "huge" (ha, ha). I am not sure how many months these great learing experiences went on.........but the event that brought the fun to a halt was---
one day the boys went to Tom's house (a boy they knew from school and his house was the designated paper drop) to do the route. They talked with him as usual, and prepared their papers, and then did the route. But the next day, we were informed that Tom had "accidently" shot and killed his friend, in Tom's bedroom, and then tried to stuff the body in a garbage bag and in the garbage can to cover the whole thing up. So, the boys had to go down to Mesa PD and give a statement. Apparently Tom had made reference about having access to the gun to them. The whole incident was too real, and we were very forunate no harm had come to them. Shortly thereafter, the routes were ended. I also remember a girl getting killed (Tempe) while collecting, and so eventually the paper began direct billing to all customers, where was that when we needed it.

And so, not learning from the boys paper route days, a few years later, as I am starting another job (Wang from Kerr's, see my work for details, if you need to review) and I am taking a pay cut, I get some advice from Clarence Martin. He says he has thrown an adult paper route for year's and makes good money (I don't remember how much). So I give it a try. The money was always needed, but what happened those next 8 or 9 years was crazy.

My route consisted of the apartments/condo's just to the north of Fiesta Mall (north of Southern) and from Alma School to Longmore, 200 plus or minus papers. It was an auto route, but I didn't get to drive and throw. I had to go to each apartment complex, and then go inside each group of apartments with an armload of papers. Daily wasn't too bad, but Sunday's were a killer. I could only take about 10 at a time. My first week, I am driving our grey Nissan Sentra (2 door, stick shift). I pull up to the curb of one of the apartments, and hop out with my papers, and leave the door open. As I start dropping the papers at the doors, the sprinklers come on. No big whup, except when I get back to the car, the sprinkler head is off the sprinkler next to the car, and the front seat is totally soaked. But, all is well, the papers didn't get wet because they are in the back seat. I just had to sit in the wet seat the rest of the night, and I must have taken the other car to work, while the Sentra dried out.
Another time, as I was going up the stairs of one of the condo units, a guy is outside on his front area, and points a revolver at me. And says someone is on his roof, and he was going to shoot the guy. Well, I said it wasn't me, I was just delivering the paper. And then, I got out of there. One night in the same complex, I am driving in the parking lot, and there are fire trucks and police cars there. There was a fire in one of the garages (nicer condo's), and smoke big time. No threat to me, but just a crazy thing.
One night, during the summer, I notice a guy in the parking lot of Indian Springs. He is wearing a trench coat, and walking in and out of the parked cars. Trench coat, and it's like 90 degrees??? So, I had noticed some patrol cars back somewhere, so I track them down, and say there is this strange guy back at I.S. apts. Later, as I am done, I see the patrol cars in Fiesta Mall lot, and I stop and find out the guy got busted for breaking into cars and had stuff inside his "trench coat". No reward........
I generally started on 1 or 2 AM (weekdays), mainly because the Republic required you to pick up by 2. And if you waited until 2 to show up, and the papers were late you might be in line until 3 or 4 picking up the "heads". I could usually finish by 5, and then get another hour of sleep, before heading off to work. After a while I got use to the limited amout of sleep, but I do remember falling asleep at my "Wang cubby hole" on some days.
Sunday was a different schedule. There were inserts to be picked up, and then "heads" in a separate line. If one started at midnight, you could get the inserts and then get in line for the heads, work on combining the 2 inserts into one, as you waited for the heads to show up. If they were on time, everything was fine. But sometimes they would be late (press broke down, late breaking news, or a late finish in a ballgame). This meant not finishing the route until 7AM. With early Church, it was a killer. Especially when I was in the bishopric and sitting on the stand. I did the "head bober thing" alot.
The pick up spot was moved several times. I started at the lot at 8th and Alma School. That was the best, I could pick up Sunday big bundles, take them home, have Michael and Jeremy work on them (because of their expertise) and take what the Sentra would hold, and come back for the rest. But that was short lived, I think next was Mervyn's (Elliot and Alma School), then to the R&G office on Baseline between CC and Mesa Dr. I recall spending 1 to 2 hours just sitting each night. I did get to know some people that would later be in my wards' -- Bill and Kathlene Kellis, The Hathcock's, and several other LDS "idiots" like myself. It seems this was a good way to make some extra money, and not have to be away from your family, you just had to go without sleep.
I did the "apt thing" for about 2 years (???). Then we moved to Gilbert (my idea). I got a route in the Gilbert area. It was Guadalupe to Williams Field Rd.and Gilbert Rd. to Val Vista, still 200 + papers. It was all driving, and just tossing the papers onto driveways. Much easier than running through apartment complexes, but put more miles on the ole Sentra. Except, I didn't play B-Ball any more because of the sleep thing, so the running did take the place of exercise.
I used the "paper route" expertise of Michael and Jeremy again on Sundays in Gilbert. I would bring home the inserts and heads, and they would insert while I started the route. I would then come back for the rest of the papers and finish the route. This was really a help on times we had to bag.
"Bagging" - days we were required by R&G to put the papers in a plastic bag to keep it from getting wet, so they would get a "zillion" complaints. I didn't bag alot in the apartments, all the apts and condo's were covered, just the townhomes (the ones that are west of Alma School and just south of Chuckie Cheese) required bagging. Anyway, one August morning. We were told to bag, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky. So, not wanting to waste bags that I had to pay for, or time in bagging. I delivered my route. As I am about done, it is starting to cloud up (where did they come from???) and a Summer thunderstorm hits. I got a number of complaints, but because of my "sparkling" record I got to keep my job. WHAT A BREAK!!!
I did take pride in making sure the papers hit the center of the driveway and up the driveway to the garage, or landed where a customer had specified. I always made sure it didn't go under the car or in the grass (sprinklers!!!). This would be a factor in whether or not you got "tips" from customers. A tip from a customer also meant "special care" for his paper in the future. Maybe this is why I am so generous with tips..(???)
While in Gilbert, I am unexpectedly done with Wang, but find another job, and start at Eyeco at 32nd St. and Shea, in PHOENIX (with no freeway). I drive 45 plus minutes to get there. I recall some mornings not remembering how I got to work, I was so sleepy. I would go to DQ for a "shake lunch" (beginning of HT, not Home Teaching) and then to a Church parking lot for an hour "power nap".
One morning, I am taking Jeremy to school (post divorce), and we get rear ended by a kid from Gilbert High. The Sentra is totalled, booo. But, yea!!!!! I get a new vehicle. A new, bright, shiny red S-10, x-tended cab. Great truck for delivering papers (but not for more than 2 passengers, but it worked), but not for rainy days. Sundays, I could get every paper in the bed, it was a little over the top but worked. On "bag days" I would go to the banks at Guadalupe and Gilbert Rd. (BofA, Bank One or Wells Fargo), get everthing ready, and tarp the load, put a bunch in the cab, and refill as needed. The joys and memorys of the paper route.
Mignon and I are married on May 5, 1989. And we do the paper route on our honeymoon. I wasn't able to get a sub. So, on Saturday morning, we over sleep and start delivering papers at 7 ish. We finish is record time, and with not too many complaints. I am now at BHN, and hoping I can quit the route. But, not just yet. So we start splitting the route, Mignon delivers part, and I deliver part. That allows us to finish quicker, and get longer sleep time. At some point we get a Voyager van, which holds all the papers in an enclosed area, allows one person to drive while the other inserts and folds.
One time, I don't remember if it was when we split or not, but I am by myself and in the area North of Elliot, east of Beck, and I turn a corner in the neighborhood and must have dosed off, as I hit a parked car on my right side. I hit the car on it's bumper, and the bumper went down my right side. I left a note (4AM ish), and finished the route. I never heard from the people. The next night, the car was still there, and the note inside. I determined the car must not be running or used, and it wasn't hurt. So I picked up the note. The car was there for the longest time, and eventually was gone.....
On one split morning. I get finished, and Mignon didn't make it home soon after. She has gotten stuck in a dirt road that leads to one guys' house in the middle of a big field (now where Gilbert Town hall is). The road got flooded when the field got over-irrigated. Luckily, an SRP irrigation guy saw her, and got her unstuck (no cell phones back then)
On another occasion, I am riding with Mignon, and we are going to the house in the middle of the farm acres. We circle the house via the driveway, and a dog starts after us, barking away.....the next thing we know, he starts yelping, and limps off. It's like 4AM, so we get home, I call my DA (district assistant) and tell him what has happened. He says he will call and check on the dog with the customer. Later that morning after telling the DA to have the guy call me, I get a call from the customer who says his dog was hurt bad, they had to take him in for surgery, and it's going to cost (I think) $700 or $1100. I don't remember just how unless by my name, but this guy knows who I am, he is the guy that Linda and Alan worked for out of his garage doing mail sales advertising stuff??? He knows I am a member of the Church, I've been playing Christ in the EP, and I don't even know what else. So, I tell him we will take care of everything thru our insurance. I learned to not be so willing. I call our insurance 800 number, and the guy says that they won't cover the incident because Gilbert has a lease law, and the dog was not on a lease, thus not subject to coverage under our policy. Great, now I call this guy back and tell him, and he calls me a "liar", etc. So, we aren't exactly rolling in money, and he wasn't within the law, didn't have his dog locked up, and chose to spend the money to get the dog fixed......so I tell him sorry, but we are not liable according to our insurance people. He called me 2 or 3 times later that week. I didn't hear from him again. But, in later years, Don Carpenter knew him, they were in the same ward, the Ray Ward. Don said he was a "strange" guy. Then sometime later, we read about him in the paper being arrested by the FBI because of mail fraud. Too crazy. But I didn't feel so bad after that.
I am sure there is more, but this is already tooooo long. To wrap it up----
I think everyone got a chance to help with the Sunday paper in the 1989-1991 years. The garage was the work area and it was a production process. Luke started working at the movie theater. He would get off at Midnight or so. He was designated as the pick up guy for the inserts (saving me an early trip out). One Sunday around 1 or 2 a.m., he is not home as yet, and we get a call from a person who says our son Luke is in their house, and that he had fallen asleep and hit their parked car head on. Fortunately, he was okay, but shook up over the fact that he had dozed off and hit a car. We were just glad that all he got was a bump on his head from hitting the windshield. What if it had happened on the rode with a moving vehicle!! The van was pretty messed up, but the route was completed that morning with the S-10. My Atlanta Braves license plate was salavaged (or was that when Mel almost ran into a bank building with the van?) and the van was repaired. And sometime later, The Paper Route days ended. We gave up the route, and started the Dance Studio.........a whole nother blog.......