Summer Job

When I was a teenager a typical summer job was mowing lawns, bagging groceries, or working at a fast food restaurant. I remember one of my friends describing how, after being held up at Little Ceasers, he went in the back and made the biggest batch of "Crazy Bread" ever.

Walking into Zip Trip, Hollandale's answer to a fast-food joint, I was greeted by two women who were mothers of students I had taught. At Wal-Mart, in Greenville, I ran into a mom of one of my former basketball players.

This is one of the ways in which poverty manifests itself in the Delta. Jobs that, in most communities, should be the province of high school students, are instead the main source of employment for the head of the household. The simple fact is, there are no jobs.

Could you support a family of four working at Wal-Mart?

One of our nation's most enduring myths is that those who work hard will be rewarded. Of course, "myth" is just another word for "lie."