I just wanted my shed cleaned out

[Mick]

Thought a few of you might get a kick out of this:

I've got a shed where I've held a stockpile of aluminum sheet for about two years. Whenever somebody brings aluminum that might blow around, I have them throw it in the shed. I've actually been avoiding dealing with it because of having to clean it (remove nails and staples from roofing strips) and cutting it to baler size (2'x4'). Now two grandkids from Missouri came to visit last week - 16 year old girl and 15 year old brother. He said his mother told him there might be something he could do for me and I'd pay him (she was thinking cutting/splitting firewood but I have a logger cut trees and a guy with a processor cut and split). I told him if he wanted to clean and size that aluminum he could have the money we got for it. He asked how much was in there and I guessed 500 pounds (.48/lb so just over $200). He got pretty excited over that. The following is the chronology of events:

Thursday afternoon - He pulled most of it out of the shed and cleaned it in an hour and a half - still needed to size it. Took a break and didn't get back to it.



Friday - Too tired. Slept till 3:00. Went to a friend's house (grandkids lived in Maine and moved to Mo last year). Told me he'd be back Monday to finish and haul it to the yard.

Sunday - Called and said he'd be here Monday afternoon to finish up before going to Canada on Tuesday with other grandparents/family. Told him that would be too late and couldn't get everything done to get to the yard before they closed. He'd have to make a choice between video games at the friend's house or the money for the aluminum. You only get the money if you do all the work. He chooses video games.

Monday morning - his sister and I cut the aluminum and load it. Took another hour and a half. Hauled it to the yard. Came to 600 pounds ($288). I'd also loaded some tubs of aluminum cast and extrusion. We carried the tubs in and you should have seen these guys busting their a----- getting out there to help her carry tubs!!!

He's pretty mad at himself now. I told him I'd pay him $15/hr for the hour and a half he did work. I thought about just giving him the money, anyway. But "Education costs money". I did give her $100 since she did more work than he did.

[KzScrapper]

That is funny...He could have made some good cash, hopefully he'll think twice next time Grandpa gives him the opportunity.

[newattitude]

'specially since his sister one upped him, no way would he let that happen again!

[Mechanic688]

Kids, ya gotta love them, cause you can't eat them.

[Dixiedeadhead]

lol My 9 year old always asks me "Dad can I help you scrap today?" then after about 10 mins of beating on the carcass of a dryer or something I can find him inside playing XBOX...; )

[TheFatMan]

Haha, my girlfriend has two kids. They're not biologically mine, which is something I tell myself when I get a load of their work ethic. I punish them by taking them to work with me. I love my job, but they cry when they have to sort metal into crates and buckets and her youngest makes the "I'm gonna cry" face when I take him to the yard. Their idea of a good time consists of watching the same animated film over and over while begging for candy. Kinda sad really.

[Scraplogic]

Yep, the work ethic has changed. When I was a kid, we used to beg Dad to be able to unscrew a TV. He was a TV repairman, and only occasionally he had one we could unscrew. Really all we got to do was take out screws from the back. I must have been about 6 and fought with siblings who got the honor.

Fast forward. My jobless 24 year old sees me scrap and knows I get money for stuff, but has nearly zip interest in it, beyond asking once in a while if something metal is worth money. Even basics, like telling him to cut cords if he's out and sees appliances in the trash. Never came home with any.

I took him to the scrapyard once to help me unload. He got to bring the HH AL cans, and made a simple $8 for himself with which he bought smokes and a bus ride or something. But the scrap bug or work bug has not bitten him.

[c4f5]

It's been kind of sad these past 20-25 years or so, watching the work ethic of America's youth circle down the toilet, right along side the rampant growth of the entitlement mentality. A good work ethic is something I have tried very hard to instill into my own kids. My daughter, who is now 17, hasn't shown it so much at home, but she is doing well at school, and has taken it upon herself to join the Army National Guard, knowing that it is the only way she will pay for a college degree. She will have basic combat training knocked out of the way before she returns home to do her senior year. She is also dating a local boy who seems to carry a good work ethic. He is certainly not the sharpest tool in the shed, but is big, strong, and works hard. He is working this summer M-F for a local farmer, and is spending his days off working here with us to keep himself busy while she is gone. Kinda blew my mind.

My boy, who is 15, is a little more hands on than my girl. He has always helped me out pretty well without pay. This summer, he is getting a small commission. It did not take him long to figure out that the more I make, the more he makes, and is working accordingly.

Maybe I did something right, or maybe I just got lucky.

[dherik]

Yeah you Probably did something right Most Likely not give them everything they ask for. {I Made That Mistake I wanted My Kids To Have What I Didn't Have And That Was A Big Mistake on My Part}

I have worked very hard for my daughter to have more than I did, but she still earned it. I only have her over the summers, the first week are so deprogramming her from her mother's bad habits, but after that she is out with me when ever I'm in the garage in the evening. Last week she pulled out the bin of ram and sorted them all by type and size. Didn't have to ask, or prod her she just saw something and did it. Hopefully what she learns from me over the summers sticks when she gets a little older.

[Scrap man]

Not all the kids out there have crappy ethics these days. My buddies and I are always either mowing lawns or shoveling snow or picking metal when there's some available.

[c4f5]

Not all the kids out there have crappy ethics these days. My buddies and I are always either mowing lawns or shoveling snow or picking metal when there's some available.

Not all...thank God, but it does seem to be a trait that is fading from American society rather quickly.

[Mick]

Well, I started on the shed again since the aluminum he pulled out was only about 1/2 of what's in there. I pulled another bunch of cast, extrusion and sheet aluminum that was cleaned - just needed sorted. Still some to go. Plus the irony-aluminum boat motor parts outside I'd said he could have. Going to be another $3-400 worth. So, he passed up over $600 for a couple days work. Like KZBell said, he might think twice next time - if there is a next time.

[Dawsey]

Now that will definitely teach him a lesson or two!