Idaho-to-NC door-to-door salesperson just visited

[Vox_Reason]

I just greeted a person of college student age at my doorstep. She walked up my driveway bleeding from her leg, and I was worried that she had fallen down. No, she had just scratched a scab over a bug bite a few too many times, and had started bleeding.

I got her cleaned up and bandaged, and after hearing that she was from Idaho and doing this as a summer job, listened to the first part of her pitch to sell educational software. Explaining that we were all set for educational software at the moment, I sent her on her way with my best wishes.

Good for the young woman, for having the fortitude it takes to travel to a strange faraway city and knock on strangers' doors. But BAD for the economic situation she left in order to come here to do such a hard job.

The high today in Raleigh was in the mid 90s. This person has logged so many miles on foot that her legs were riddled with bites, one of which was bleeding. I'm impressed with the strength of character reflected in her actions.

However, I'm annoyed that there aren't opportunities for her in her home town that are at least as lucrative as going someplace else states away and trying to sell educational software door-to-door.

Maybe she was really wanting to come to Raleigh for some reason; maybe she's passionate about educational software; I dunno. But I bet she could make more money this summer in any number of local businesses, where she could work in the air conditioning and not bleed from all her bug bites.

There should be plenty of GOOD job opportunities for college-age kids everywhere in this country. It shouldn't require traveling thousands of miles and leaving your home and your family to earn a pittance walking in the blistering heat and getting devoured by bugs.

Maybe she's having a grand old time and this is exactly what she wanted to do this summer; I dunno. But would I go to Idaho when I was 20 or 21 and wander around suburban neighborhoods in adverse conditions trying to sell educational software door to door? Only if I couldn't find any other reasonable job--and the fact that she apparently couldn't, and had to travel this far to do such a tough job, is disturbing.

/Rant off

[seabeyond]

1. it is really an abusive situation

they are taken in, said they will be paid, start incurring debt then cant get out. they are dropped off and walk, come back to packed hotel or on the road to another town. i have seen this with magazine, perfume, cleaners.....i dont like them at al. i dont like kids getting inolved in them. was nice of you to clean her up

these people prey on the poor youth

[Vox_Reason]

2. I have a feeling that you're right--

That she may have been a poor youth that was a victim of a scam artist.

She said she works 7:30 AM-9:30 PM. Ugh. The heat index was 115 here last week. We missed the hottest July on record for Raleigh by .3 degrees. She's earning every bit of what she's making this summer.

I just can't believe that she came all this way to do such a tough job because she thought it would be far more lucrative than what she could do over the summer in Idaho.

Or at least I hope so...