How to work off the books

We had a 22-inch snowfall on Wednesday night. Thursday morning we were snowed in. Did anyone come around to offer their services? Not to our home, and not to any of our neighbors. Most of us are long on cash but short on muscle—we’d be delighted to get some help! To quote from my blog in December 2008:

      “When I was growing up in the 1930s, we kids took any opportunity at hand to make some extra money, including shoveling snow, running errands, and splitting wood for ten cents an hour."

This doesn't apply to just kids, of course, but to any man or woman currently physically fit.

Here’s a tip:

BEFORE a winter storm blows in, cover the neighborhood with door hangers that say something like “we’ll shovel you out for $35 an hour, we work fast, and we’re on call 4 a.m. to midnight! 907-555-1234.”

Remember: You won’t get on any New Hires list and no one needs to know your date of birth, your SSN, or your home address.