It wasn't, but I didn't know that then. Google Seth Warshavsky. He was a less than savoury character, but I met him when I was about 12 and he was 16 or 17. In retrospect, I suppose I was "groomed".

Here's what Wikipedia has, bearing in mind that it's quite likely that Seth has edited his own page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Warshavsky

Paper route at 13. Regular gig weeding a condo complex at 15. McDonalds at 16. Time to lean, time to clean.

I went to high school with that guy Russell. Seemed like a rather passive, intelligent, charming, but unmotivated individual. He used to hang out until all hours of the early morning prowling the city center (Mercer Island) talking with the night shift cops in the Smitties pancake house parking lot, hanging out at the nearby Denny's...

When I moved back to town some time after high school, and shortly before he was arrested, my wife worked briefly at that Denny's waiting tables for the night shift and would often see him there. Our apartment was walking distance and she would often walk to and from work alone....

I worked for my Fathers lawn business from the time I was 9. I did Not get paid. I got to sleep in a house, and eat food. When I was 14, still not getting paid...and my elder brothers were making $5 per hr, I went and got a paper route. $40 a month, and I did not get tips. Walking, then skateboard, than bicycle. I also payed for my own clothing from then on.

Selling pollywogs in about 3rd grade. In my wisdom of eight years of age, I determined that the pink bellied ones were female and pregnant, so I got more for those.

Tooley's Triple X in DesMoines as a cook at 16 (now a sushi place). Friends would come in and order the smallest burger and I would give them a triple bacon cheese burger When someone came in that I didn't like, it's amazing what I would do to their burger... Always laughed as they ate it.
Learned that whip cream cans were loaded with helium and if ya didn't shake them and held them upright they would just give up their helium. The owners wife used to bitch at the Darigold guy over faulty whip cream cans!
Made a whopping $1.60 an hour..........

Oh thank God. When I first read "Tooley's Triple X" I was not thinkin cook!

Helped unload 20 tons of baled hay. Too small to lift but I could push the bales across the loft for the big kids to stack. Made a whole $20 and I felt rich for months after that.

The next summer I picked strawberry's. $0.25 per "carrier", $0.50 per "flat". After a summer of that I started paying more attention in school. No fricken way I wanted to end up doing work like that to support myself for the rest of my life. This was back in the days before the "lay on your belly" strawberry picking machines that carry the pickers across the field at a slow rate of speed. My back hurts just writing about that summer.

It's not helium. It's nitrous oxide, same as the dentist uses.

i was apart of the central california, so-cal and bay area rave scene during the 90s. i dj'ed and had a great time while it lasted. fun times.

Maybe now but 42 years ago I'm pretty sure it was helium because nitrous doesn't make ya sound like Donald duck

Early teens I fixed bicycles for all the kids in town. Turned my parents shed into a makeshift bike shop. Until I got my drivers license.

I did quality control on a shipment of Chinese inflatable hemorrhoid sitz baths. Had to inflate 3000 of them to test for leaks.

In the seventies, I peeled cascara bark and picked licorice root out of maple trees.
Had a side gig in spring and summer working at the shooting range in the trap box.

Growing up I always could earn money by helping my parents do yard work. Chopping blackberry bushes, fencing, that sort of stuff. Usually got like 10-20 bucks for helping for a good 6-10 hours of work. Usually I was the clean up guy...got to rake everything, load the wheel barrow, that sort of stuff. When i wanted more money my mom would pay $5 a tree to cut a 1' section of Ivy 360 degrees off trees around our property. Remember wanting a lego set that was like 100 bucks. Cut ivy for days it seemed like (big trees mind you...lots of 2+ ft diameter). Was so happy when i gave the money to my dad and we went to fred meyers so he could buy it for me!

First real job was at 16...worked at a dairy queen. Hated having to work the front counter. The cook spot wasnt to bad though. Ate a lot of reeses peanut butter cups and cookie dough. Was crazy looking back though. Up at 530am. School. Cross Country or Track Practice. Then go to work till 10-1030. home around 11. Still managed pretty much straight A's too