Lemonade stand

After playing bug bingo at the library this afternoon, we drove over to South Middle School, to check out what will become H's new elementary. We drove around the building trying to guess where a playground could go, etc. Nestled behind South is this short street with gorgeous old homes--large, well manicured homes and none of them are for sale. It was a pleasant surprise in this city of problems. This story though is about the boys on the corner. They were selling lemonade from a Staples box. We weren''t in a hurry and the girls were thirsty so we stopped. There were three of them: two brothers and a friend ranging from 7-10. Lemonade was $0.25. The girls each took a cup at which point the entrepreneurs informed us that we had to give the cups back because people had been taking them. I wonder how big my eyes got when they started whipping around the rag they used to wipe the cups clean. The girls had already taken several sips, so I merely suggested they get a bucket of warm water and soap to wash the cups. They were "raising money for the big white house with the pillars." I had seen it and inquired what the house needed. "We're raising money for our in-ground swimming pool, but he (the blond second grader) doesn't live with us so he gets a kick of our profits." Oh, OK. Then they told me they had made about $4.50 but the oldest had a half dollar someone gave him that he wasn't going to spend because it had Pope John Paul II on it. To which the other boy, who attends St. Stephens, said, "He's dead." And the third boy, who also attends St. Stephens said "He is?" I wish it wouldn't have been rude to laugh out loud because I swallowed so much laughter it hurt and now it won't come out.