Andrew Donaldson, of Castle Shannon, is not new to the drink stand scene.
"A lot of times, I make over $50, and I do pretty good," Andrew said.
This small business owner is normally seen setting up shop outside his Castle Shannon home when the temperature is a little warmer, but like most entrepreneurs, when he sees an opportunity, he takes it.
"I was kind of bored, so I was like, I can just come out and do something, so I came out and sold hot cocoa," Andrew said.
On Friday, he bundled up, grabbed the electric water boiler and a can of Swiss Miss and gave his customers exactly what they needed after a cold and snowy day: hot chocolate.
Andrew was surprised when two officers approached him.
"They asked if I was by myself, and I said, 'No, the babysitter is in the house,'" Andrew said.
Andrew's parents were told a neighbor called police after seeing him outside and being concerned about the temperatures. After the officers made sure he was OK, Andrew offered them his service member perk: a cup of hot cocoa on the house.
The officers paid anyway!
"They paid even though he insisted it was free, so I thought that was really nice of them," Rebecca Lukens, Andrew's mom, said.
"Whoever called the cops on him are the real MVPs because we learned that the local police were really friendly," Lukens said.
Andrew said his parents taught him to save a little, spend a little and share a little, so he donates some of his earnings to an animal shelter.
Reader Comments
And damn! Pushing 70!? I figured you for a youngster! (Linda too) I'm starting to think we on sott are all retirement material... But hey, Mick Jagger's pretty darn cool!
Growing up here, around Christmastime, we would climb the local trees, gather mistletoe, and knock door to door to sell it. (We're talking ages 9-12.) I've never heard nor seen of kids doing that now/
While Christmastime is still 'celebrated' here - (along with the lesser Jewish Holiday of Channukah, and the modernly made up and westernized African Quanza (hut?) my bad, I mean Kwaanza) - I've not seen kids selling it nor climbing trees for it. ("Oh, too dangerous!" the Good Morning America-Programmed-Moms would say.)
I reply that the stunts that I pulled off in my youth, (e.g., jroutinely jumping off of a dying hickory tree 25 feet above the ground, across six feet of space, and landing on a downard sloping steep roof without gutter or anything to catch upon, night surfing with sharks, running from cops, would give your 'modern' yuppie mom a heart attack.
Those skills eventually saved my life in sundry circumstances, including near drownings while surfing (thinking, 'If I could do that, I can make this swim."- repeat once a minute for an hour.); fights involving guns; et al.
The last thing the PTB wants is for any of us to be competent in self sufficiency.
R.C.
R.C.