[wbill]

My grandfather owned a small store. There was *always* work, sweeping, stocking, painting, etc. He used to have people come in and offer to swing a mop, or whatever else needed to be done for a day or two.

The dumb ones asked for money. Smart ones took my grandmother's cooking. She'd stuff them, and send them on with enough leftovers to feed an army.

It was a different time.

[Buckeye McFrog]

My grandfather was a pharmacist. Like most of them back at that time he owned his own drug store. The neighborhood at that time was filled with recent Italian immigrants who had very little money. Often they would barter with him. He would take a chicken or a basket of tomatoes in exchange for a prescription.

In some cases the customer could not even come up with that. My dad says he would give them the prescription anyway. Then he’d shrug and say “someone is sick and they need medicine....what am I supposed to do? Tell them no??”