In today?s segment of Flashback, I decided to go back a long time ago into my very early youth. As far back as 1983/1984. I was in grade 5 at Overlander?s Elementary school in Edmonton, Alberta Canada, and I (with some assistance) sold enough shoelaces to earn myself a portable television; all at the age of 10.
It?s funny, when I think of the days back in Edmonton, it almost seems like a whole lifetime away. It?s like it never really happened at all. I wonder if when I am 50 or 60 years old if these days will seem the same. Regardless, I have memories from those days but a lot of it is very vague, so it?s a little harder to try and remember details, but here?s the jist.
Every year, our school would have a fundraiser to try and earn money for the schools? activities. Each year, we?d be asked to try and sell various items to try and raise money. That year, it was shoelaces. We were asked to try and sell as many pairs of shoelaces as possible. The person who sold the most pairs, would receive a portable 5? black and white television/radio. This was a major incentive to the kids so we all went nuts trying to sell these.
In those days, I wasn?t much for knocking door to door trying to get people to buy stuff from me, but I did have an ace in the hole. My mom. Mom worked at the local newspaper, The Edmonton Journal, and I asked her if she could try and sell some of these laces to people she worked with. I would try and sell some to other people I knew, friends, etc. Well, mom?s selling at work proved to be a goldmine.
At final count, 113 pairs of shoelaces were sold. Mostly by my mom at the Journal, but I did sell the odd one myself here and there. I was so happy. I was also quite anxious and excited to see if I was going to win.
When everything got submitted, the school had a big assembly where they were going to announce the winner. The principal came out, and had the TV prize with him. He made the announcement and they called my name. I went up to accept the gift, and the principal gave his congrads, but said he would keep the TV in the office and would make arrangements for me to get it at the end of the day. That was fine.
The end of the day came, I went down to the office and they told me that they were going to get someone to drive me home with the TV because they figured I was so small, I?d have a hard time carrying the thing home, and they didn?t want some bully beating me up and taking my prize. The secretary was nice enough to drive me home and I was pretty happy to have my new prize.
I gave huge thanks to my mom and made good use of the TV until we moved to New Brunswick where I ended up ripping it apart trying to figure out how it worked. I do however have one very fond memory of being in Edmonton when the power went out and we were in the middle of watching a hockey game. No power = no TV. But the portable one took batteries so I dug out every battery I could find, took the large battery from my rocket kit, and wired them all together, and plugged them into the TV, and sure enough it worked. Me and mom sat there, watching TV, in the dark, hoping the Oilers would win the game. What a great memory!
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