Back in 1988, Cindy was a 15 year old that owned a lemonade stand in my old neighborhood. Buster, Reggie, and Herman were all 9 years old and worked the lemonade stand for Cindy. They would charge 10¢ for every cup of lemonade. Cindy would get 5¢ for every cup sold and the other 5¢ was for the 3 boys to split.
Cindy was a dipshit owner. She would never stock Country-Time Lemonade Mix or cups and then would get mad at the boys when they would run out. Cindy didn't mean to be a dipshit, she just didn't have the dedication or organization it takes to run a solid stand.
The 3 boys were just happy to have jobs, so they just put up with Cindy's dipshit antics and sold what they could. Besides, they could make upwards of $2.00 each on a nice hot summer day. Buster and Reggie were party animals and would get all hopped-up on lemonade and Pixy Stix before, during, and after work. Herman drank the occasional cup of lemonade but was an easy going kid. He was just trying to pay off his Power Wheels Escalade Ext loan. Herman and I were good friends back then.
Buster and Reggie hatched a new plan to make more money. They started pocketing all 10¢ from some of the lemonade sales. They would turn in less money to Cindy and she was usually too unorganized to notice. At the days end when Buster, Reggie, and Herman would split up the money, they would now make up to $5 each. DAMN SON, DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH PIXY STIX AND FUN DIP YOU COULD BUY WITH 5 BONES!!
Buster and Reggie finally explained to Herman why they all starting making so much more money. "Think of how much scratch we can make if you start keeping all 10¢ too, Herm", the boys exclaimed. Herman tried it on a few sales and it just didn't feel right. Each night after closing the stand, the boys would throw the money they made into the pot to be divided equally. Because of skimming, Reggie and Buster consistently contributed much larger amounts than Herman.
Herman's innocence seemed to highlight Buster and Reggie's scheme and resentment grew. On one hand, Herman could skim and make a lot of ¢'s and just deal with the feelings of guilt and the fear and shame of getting caught and fired. Or he could refuse to get involved and deal with Buster and Reggie's cold looks and mounting resentment.
Herman chose neither and gave Cindy his 2 days notice. When Herman told me this story during recess one day, I put sand in his hair and jokingly called him a pussy, but secretly I wondered what I would do in his position. Buster and Reggie both worked the lemonade stand for many years after that, they found many other co-workers that were willing to skim, made a lot of ¢'s, and their scheme was never discovered.
Now, the names, dates, and some of the details of this story have been changed but I assure you that this story is true and this Lemonade stand is still standing today; as a matter of fact, I'm still really good friends with Herman. There are times in life when your honesty and integrity comes into question. Take a minute to think about this story and what you would have done; be honest with yourself, no one is going to know. When push comes to shove, are you more Buster or Herman?
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