A Subscription To What?

Yesterday evening, my wife and I were watching a movie and heard a knock at the door. I went over and opened the door to find a middle-school / early high-school boy holding a clipboard.

"Excuse me, I'm raising money for..."

At this point, my eyes glazed over and bittersweet memories flooded me. Ah, I've been there. Sometimes it was magazine subscriptions, sometimes it was candy bars. The goal was always to fund a band trip. I remember knocking at a door, and not being able to see the lady who answered because of the glare from her screen door. I took a wild guess, based on what little I could see. "Hi there, is your mother home?" Petrified, I watched as the door opened further and an 80+ year-old woman stumbled out. "My mother's been dead for 20 years, young man."

I was never the top seller.

While I was going down memory lane, the boy continued. I honestly didn't hear why he was raising money, but he pulled me back to the present with...

"... by selling subscriptions to the Tulsa World newspaper..."

I had to choke back a laugh. I told him about my employee discount, and then politely sent him on his way.

He was a nice kid. At least he didn't ask to speak to my mother.