Your Tax Dollars At Play

I know Tracy Chapman (the radical blueswoman) would despise me for this job I do this holiday season, but so far it's been very interesting.

As you may know, kettle workers stand in the entrances of stores, malls, etc. collecting donations for passersby. It's a system that works surprisingly well comparatively speaking; people tend to be generous on shopping days.

One incident is especially interesting: there was a woman on my first day Friday who stuck in a five dollar bill before I could ahve a chance to tell her she was donating to a charity, not the Armed Forces! Given the thickness of her accent, I imagine her grasp of written English was not very good. Now once someone puts money in my kettle, I have no way to get it out. Nor do I want one -- the most vital aspect of my job is trustworthiness. But I felt so sorry for this poor woman who had no idea what she'd contributed to.

Overall, though, it's been a good experience. So if you see som eone with ther red kettle ringing a bell, put something in their kettle and maybe offer them a cup of cocoa. I know the cocoa I was given at about 6:00pm Friday night really helped ME get through a very cold and blustery day out standing in the doorway.