Cultivating the city's work ethic

SOMETIMES, in life's mundane moments, you get to experience the part of our nation that we all pledged allegiance to back in grade school.

I'm not talking about the time spent with family and friends, but the America that sets us apart - the ingenuity, hard work and Rockwellian nation of strugglers who overcome.

In that sense, I had my latest America-is-great-affirming moment a few weeks at the end of my last trip to the Thriftway, where I encountered a kid who asked to help load my groceries into my car.

After a few seconds in shock that such a thing still happens, I told him to grab a few bags and put them in the car. He was shocked when I gave him $10 and told him not to spend it all in one place. It was the best $10 I've spent in a long time.

I didn't catch the kid's name, nor did I need to. He was me - and a lot of other readers - 20 years ago, and I hope he used that money to get his mom a nice Christmas present or buy a video game. He earned it.

I wonder how much the current grocery-carrying generation is earning, and I think that's something the city can have an impact on through a public-private partnership that asks the business community to plant the seeds for its next generation of leaders.

Scraping together enough cash to buy a can of fresh tennis balls for a stickball game at Hetzell playground was almost a daily chore for my gang when the "Baseball Bunch" was on TV.

We ran around the neighborhood collecting cans to drop off at Penn Treaty Metals, yelled "Fresh pretzels . . . all ready!" in the morning or helped people put groceries in their cars like the aforementioned go-getter.

Though our goal at the time was simply to play ball, the effort that brought us to the field by the afternoon taught us lessons that carry to this very day.

We learned the value of a dollar, which was way, way more crushed cans than you'd think it would take. And, as important, that time spent in pursuit of a goal was worth it when the goal was reached, even if it was just to have enough money for a water ice and pretzel when mom and dad say no.

Anyone see kids doing these kinds of things today? Sure, here and there, you'll see a cute little lemonade stand. In my neighborhood, we still have walking pretzel vendors in the summer. No offense to this fine paper or my regular deliveryman, but even the venerable paper route is gone. It's easier to ask for a buck than to earn and save one. Of course, not all kids lack the work ethic. But the ethic that built this country is learned only through work. You don't pick it up from a very special episode of "Hannah Montana."

Inflation, lethargy, endless spoiling by mom and dad, PlayStation and a variety of other factors have combined to limit opportunities in this once-thriving micro-economy in Philadelphia.

I'm not suggesting that during my childhood every kid was as busy as a beaver, rifling through trash to find an empty can of Frank's Black Cherry Wishniak. But I am saying we have the power in our city to teach life lessons on a grander scale, encourage youth participation in community-building activities and reinstill the work ethic in the next generation.

As the city now has a host of new initiatives, we should have a new Mayor's Office of Young Entrepreneurs, funded entirely through corporate and private donations. Companies can invest in our kids and create a generation keen on business skills, hard work and saving.

For instance, in each council district, once or twice a month, the office can gather enterprising young kids, partner with banks to get them passbook accounts and start them on their way to earning and saving some money. Perhaps these banks, or a kind philanthropist, could match the first $25 in deposits (a smart bank would do this and show a marked increase in lifelong customers). This small investment will pay unique dividends in 20 years as productive children become productive adults.

THE Young Entrepreneurs Office could teach kids to think beyond the piggy bank or instant gratification at the corner store. We can teach them to save. Or put them on the street to clean the lots that never get cleaned, pick up litter, sweep or shovel your pavements.

One day, you'll walk by one of these kids, and he or she will ask if you need a hand. Even though you don't, you'll throw him or her a couple of bucks and walk away with a smile. *

A.J. Thomson shovels his own pavements when it snows. You can reach him at ajthomson7@gmail.com.