Today was the day. The Monday before Christmas. I delivered the Courier Express and my friend Rich delivered the Buffalo News. The Monday before Christmas we’d venture out to personally deliver the calendar for what we deemed the year end holiday bonus.

The Christmas calendar. We received cash tips, other gifts from some like holiday cakes and cookies, nothing from some, and the noticeable generosity of tips from others. The reward you’d get for being a good business person throughout the year. Rich and I delivered from 1973 to 1977 and the stories and memories and tips are stories that last forever.