The Shame of Poverty - Introduction to No Money.

In 1976, at the beginning of my junior year at a private day school, and just a week after my 16th birthday, the school suggested I withdraw. The head said I had already missed too much class to make up the year. After several bad interviews at boarding schools, my father deposited me at the curb in Augusta, Maine, with a small amount of cash and the name of a boarding house which offered rooms at $25 a week. "If you need someone to talk to, call me. If you need help, don't call," he said. He had broached the idea of leaving me as we pulled up in front of a shoe store. "You're going to need some boots." 15 minutes later, I met poverty. 

It wasn't too bad. The landlord lent me a sleeping bag. I got a room, so I had a roof over my head. There were other poor people in the house, so I had company and a sense of belonging. 

And I had $25. That $25 quickly got spent purchasing food; peanut butter, jelly, bread, pasta. And a pack of cigarettes. And a six-pack, if I'm honest. I needed help coping. 

My $25 didn't last long. And my landlord, to whom I paid my first and last weeks' rent, knew that and gently kept me focused on the next due date. So a source of income - a job - needed procurement. 

Maine's winter reputation is well-deserved. Darkness settles in early and stays long. Clouds persist and often bring snow. November might be the last time you see pavement until April. In other words, people hunker down. You don't quit your job in November. There's not a decent replacement in sight. Some of the folks in the house knew this. 

It snowed, so I made a few bucks shoveling walks for the old ladies in the neighborhood. I wasn't going to make rent and pay for food shoveling walks. 

I went down to the unemployment office. Here's what I had. No job experience. I hadn't been laid off, so there was no unemployment. There was a classroom aid job for a week at the Head Start program. 20 hours at $2.25 an hour, and I got milk, snacks breakfast, and lunch with my adorable children. One week of rent covered. 

I was offered a dishwashing job which I was advised to take. With that, I launched my restaurant career. Never once did I consider taking unemployment or food stamps.