[Lonesome in Massachussets]

About 20-25 years ago my wife and I were eating lunch at new Pizza Hut in Acton, MA on a Saturday. Next door a new office building was going up. As we sat there eating, a kid about 11-12 years old was operating a payloader, scooping out the basement for the new office building. We watched in bemusement as he moved the dirt into piles playing with the biggest honking Tonka toy in the sandbox. No apparent adult supervision in sight. After we polished off about four slices of pizza, the kid parks the payloader and climbs into the rear of a pick up truck parked on the site, tosses out a 20” bike with ape hanger handlebars popular in those days, hops on it and rides off into the sunset.

I guess he must have eaten all his Brussel sprouts and his reward was being allowed to play with dad’s toys. Still pretty kewl.

Bet he was seldom “bored”.

[Smokin' Joe]

When I was a kid, being allowed 'do things', to operate equipment, be it tractors, small craft (boats), small bulldozers, farm vehicles, tools, to go hunting, etc., were all status symbols in our generation, earned through proficiency displayed in a supervised environment and the demonstrated degree of responsible behaviour which led our elders to conclude, (on occasion with some minor trepidation), that we could be trusted to do so with a minimum of direct supervision.

It was an honor to be so regarded by adults and status symbol among our peers.

Often, that demonstrated proficiency translated directly into pecuniary compensation for ourselves, either immediately or later on in life, but at the time we just thought it was neat to be allowed to 'do things'--the 'work' was often its own reward.