Saturday, August 25, 2007

It is Saturday. I am low on gas. It is time to drive to the local gas station and fill up the tank. At the curb, are high school girls in school colors, madly waving for attention. They are volunteering for a fund raiser for their after school program. I forgot which club they represent. Aren't they cute!!! They are slim and firm. Their hair is pulled back in pony tails. They are young and full of energy. Seeing them makes me smile. After gassing the truck, I pull into the car wash place. I am second in line. While waiting for my turn, I watch these lovely young things wash the Lexis ahead of me. Something is wrong. They don't seem to have good muscle tone. Have they not participated in athletics? They are awkward at their task. Pushing sponge and soap and water seems an unfamiliar task to them. Have they never washed their parent's car? Do they have experience with physical work? I suspect that they don't. Then it is my turn. Their teacher or club advisor is there to supervise. He has my approval. Memories of my teaching days come flooding back. One girl is in charge of the hose. Every one is soaking wet. This is part of the fun of the experience. As they approach my car, my dog barks at them...telling them to "back off." Rascal is protecting my truck by barking up a frenzy. The windows are rolled up, so every one knows that Rascal can't get at them. Some of the girls laugh. I laugh too. Some of the other girls are not too sure about a dog showing her teeth....no matter how small the dog is. No matter that the dog is behind glass.
I pay my five dollars and the young ladies go to work. Water, sponges and soap are applied to the truck. They are very slow. However, they cover the truck. Time to rinse off the soap. The girl with the hose misses a spot by the outside mirrors. I point it out to her through my closed window. She complies. The soap is rinsed off. This reminds me of when my girls were that age. They were supposed to do the dishes. It was a fight to get the job done. They did not wash down surfaces and mostly missed part of the job. They did the job as sloppy as they could get away with. Perhaps it is just their age. I don't want to go back in time and have to go through that experience all over again.
Next in the sequence is using towels to dry off the water. Two girls share one towel to dry the windshield and to go over the top of the truck. They use the towel like a saw, back and forth. This works. Other girls dry the passenger side. They forget the driver's side window. The teacher motions that I am finished. With a wave of the hand, Rascal, truck and I leave the car wash station. ..with a wet driver's side window. At home, an inspection of the passenger side reveals that they missed the roof line entirely. It is still dirty. These lovely young high school students don't know how to work.

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2 Comments:

Blogger Melanie O. said...

Judging by the state of my residences since being on my own, I'd say it's an age/student thing. Funny thing is - Dan usually does the dishes, and I'm the one re-washing them now.

I'm thinking this might mean there's hope for a couple of my sons.

3:33 AM  
Blogger gardenbug said...

I was wondering if they were in a special education class, but was too polite to ask.

7:00 AM  

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