Wait a minute......I provide all these guys with a job. I pay them well during the year.....Shouldn't it be the other way around? Shoudn't they be thanking me? They should be giving me a gift for hiring them throughout the year....OK....maybe the parking attendant....

Roscoe

I don't see bloggers on that list.

Any suggestions?

How about some tips for the broke Lance Corporals in the Marine Corps this holiday season. Contact me for where to send checks.

*Do note I'm not really that serious but if you feel so compelled, send your donations to a pro-military charity of your choice.*

Marcus,
This former Marine Corporal is sending packages to a 2nd Recon Unit in Iraq. If you are interested go to anysoldier.com. Also I give to the Marine Corps/Law Enforcement Assn which gives 100% of what they collect to families of Marines and federal law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. http://www.mc-lef.org/

Semper Fi,
Roscoe

$10-$30 for a newspaper carrier? If only it had been so when I was doing it.

I used to get up at 6am every morning to deliver papers between the ages of 12-16. On Sunday I earned £2.50, and £7.50 for the rest of the week. That worked out about £1/hour (about $1.90 at todays exchange rate).

Given that my route had about 150 houses, my Christmas tips wold have been between $1500- $4500 a year. I was lucky to get $50.

I was a paperboy through the 80s. By the time my run was done, the paper was running $2.25/week. I usually got $5 or $10 from the people who tipped at Christmas, but only about 1 in 8 tipped at Christmas. One fellow gave me a little bar of silver for Christmas, which was very unusual. I still remember his name, and I was always careful to put the paper where his family never had to step out the door to get it.

With very few exceptions, the Christmas tippers were the same people who tipped an average of $0.25/week throughout the year.

I tend to agree with Roscoe.

If I had to tip all the folks like trash collectors, paper carriers, etc., I'd be broke ... which I nearly am at holiday time anyway.

People who provide a continuing service in a major way to me - like my auto mechanic and my vet - get a nice gift. I have to draw the line somewhere!

The owner of the pizzeria we frequent gives us a really nice bottle of Chianti every year as a thanks for our regular orders. My hairdresser gives out a nice little gift too.

All my 10's and 20's went to Iraq charities. The trash guys will have to rely on my neighbors.

There is a traditional flat-fee tip for bloggers: EIGHT BUCKS!

When I first heard about this "controversy," I thought "oh this is just so much BS." I'm retired AF and, while I realize that not a lot of AF persons die in combat, it makes no difference. *All* military personnel are brothers and sisters and we *all* feel the losses. If Secretary Rumsfeld didn't personally sign all of the letters, so what? He *has* gone to visit the injured on several occasions, has gone to Iraq more than once, and has opened himself up to the questions of the common serviceman or woman on several occasions *before* the so-called armor controversy. All of these things are more than what many of his critics have done, including his Republican critics like Trent Lott and John McCain.

You know, it's sad when Democrat Senator Hillary Clinton has put herself in harm's way more than either of the two aforementioned *Republican* senators. And I'm no fan of hers, to be sure.

At least she's usually smart enough to know when to STFU.