The bell rang insistently and I opened the front door to reveal two young men in their late teens or early twenties, one a slim but broad shouldered dirty blonde and the other, seemingly older, a more substantial, muscular brunette sporting a heavy five oclock shadow.
"Hi, Mr. Acuff," the older one said. "We have a proposition for you."
I put the obvious response out of my mind. I knew these "kids" quite well. They were the Standish boys and had been my next door neighbors for ten years. I had watched them grow up. Their parents were jerks, but the kids were O.K. Both were fine students and terrific athletes. The younger one, Kevin, was a sprinter and, Kurt, a year older, was a vaulter. Both had been state level in high school, with Kurt taking the championship on the high bar, and Kevin finishing second overall in the 100 meters. Both had moved up to the University of Minnesota on athletic scholarships.
For several years, they had been employed in the summer by the company that cut my grass (and which also plowed my driveway in our cold, cold winters). Kurt, as always the more voluble, announced that they would be forming their own lawn care business with a bunch of friends from high school. He said that they could offer me a substantial discount on what I was used to paying.
The figure they quoted was about two-thirds of what I had been paying, but I was worried. I asked what would happen in September when they went back to school. Kurt assured me that other members of the consortium lived locally year round and would be available to cut the lawn until it became dormant in late October
"Hi, Mr. Acuff," the older one said. "We have a proposition for you."
I put the obvious response out of my mind. I knew these "kids" quite well. They were the Standish boys and had been my next door neighbors for ten years. I had watched them grow up. Their parents were jerks, but the kids were O.K. Both were fine students and terrific athletes. The younger one, Kevin, was a sprinter and, Kurt, a year older, was a vaulter. Both had been state level in high school, with Kurt taking the championship on the high bar, and Kevin finishing second overall in the 100 meters. Both had moved up to the University of Minnesota on athletic scholarships.
For several years, they had been employed in the summer by the company that cut my grass (and which also plowed my driveway in our cold, cold winters). Kurt, as always the more voluble, announced that they would be forming their own lawn care business with a bunch of friends from high school. He said that they could offer me a substantial discount on what I was used to paying.
The figure they quoted was about two-thirds of what I had been paying, but I was worried. I asked what would happen in September when they went back to school. Kurt assured me that other members of the consortium lived locally year round and would be available to cut the lawn until it became dormant in late October