Originally Posted by Gil 5

I was a paperboy in Metairie, Louisiana from about 1978 to 1981. I delivered 135 copies of the Times Picayune every day rain or shine on my Black Schwinn Stingray. My distributor, Mr. Lopez sold me the basket I mounted to the handlebars. I think it was a Ward Basket and it was huge. When you rode down the street even when the basket was empty, people knew you were a paperboy. The basket was too big for anything else. When I first started the route, I used my Schwinn Speedster, but it quickly began to suffer under the weight of the papers. Spokes popped, and I'd get flat tires all the time. The toughest thing was that the load was so unbalanced, I was catapulted over the handlebars a few times when I ran over an obstruction. Once I'd made enough money, the first thing I did was to go to Pauli's Bicycle and Lawnmower Shop and buy a brand new Schwinn Spitfire. I'd had my eye on it a long time. It had big whitewall balloon tires, no fenders, and it just looked so cool and old fashioned. It was kind of like the "Model A Ford" of bikes. I used to get up every morning at 4:30 and pick up my newspaper bundles from our driveway where Mr. Lopez had dropped them off. I'd fold my papers and stack them like cordwood. Then I'd hop over the porch railing and begin loading them into my basket. It usually took me two trips to deliver them all, except on Sundays which took four trips. On Sunday mornings if I had any leftover papers, I'd ride to MacKenzie's Bakery and sell them in front. Then I'd go inside and buy cinnamon rolls for breakfast. I learned lessons from that paper route that have stayed with me all my life. I learned to manage money, maintain equipment, and treat customers with respect. I still sometimes dream that I overslept and forgot to make my deliveries.