Chapter 3 'I Could Always Plow a Pretty Straight Line'

I keep thinking of these young workers working long hours and not really being compensated fairly.  But I guess if it was tied into schooling, maybe thats how it was justified.  I remember my very first job at Tastee Freeze.  I think I was in 8th grade and I was paid somewhere around $6.00/hour.  This was so cool because it was my own money and I could go shopping and buy my own clothes!  I just keep thinking of these comparisons and although the times and cost of living has changed, they were really doing these jobs for the experience, I was doing it for the money.  At least, if they were in an area and wanted to switch trades, they could.  Just think of how young they were and all of the exerience they gained from the trades they had dabbled in!  I had to laugh at the part in the book where they talked about earning enough money to buy their own clothes.  The tailor-made bell bottom trousers were the 'in' thing to have at Chilocco.  I remember my mother telling me that they would make their own bell bottoms.  They would cut a triangle out on the outter seam of their jeans and sew a different color material in and ta-da, home made bell bottoms.  I guess it's interesting to see how no matter what, people can make due and do the best they can to try and be 'in'.