Lemonade for Pakistan

Dear Reader,

On Friday my children decided they were going to have a lemonade stand.  There was much discussion about signage and profit sharing, what would be offered in the way of merchandise (lemonade obviously, as well as cookies and jokes) and how the millions they were anticipating would be spent (mostly on Gummy Bears).  I brought to their attention that if they were to raise this money for charity, they would probably bring in more, and I offered to give them a bonus for their efforts.  And so Lemonade for Pakistan was born.  Here are the highlights:

The day began with the children drinking their product.  All was tasty and refreshing.

Curious onlooker.

First customer!  She had lemonade and a cookie, but didn't get to hear the joke because-

-she was interrupted by her friend.  The friend did not partake of our refreshments.

This guy said, "Good job!" and threw money in the cookie bowl.

Happy customer enjoying the jokes.  She heard "A mushroom walked into a party.  The guy said 'Hey! You weren't invited!' The mushroom said, 'Why? I'm a fungi"  Most of the jokes were mushroom-based.

This gentleman thought my children needed to know how much money our government was spending on the war in Afghanistan.  He really, really wanted them to fully understand the financial devastation this war was bringing to our great nation.  Next!

My daughter thought that wearing her visor might boost sales.

Then she had the great idea that we should also offer dog treats.  This led to them screaming "Ice cold lemonade plus cookie and a joke only one dollar! And if you have a dog, we have dog treats! Help flood victims in Afghanistan, I mean Pakistan!" which is a really long slogan.

This man visited us several times.  Here you see him instructing the children on proper selling technique. He then told me that he was going to stand in front of the Chelsea Hotel and paint a picture and try to sell it for $50.  Bon chance, monsieur!

Someone didn't realize this would also be a math lesson.

The grand total!

All in all it was a highly successful venture!  I learned a great deal that day - namely that most people are really very generous.  A woman leaving her shift at Dunkin' Donuts, where she could clearly snack on goodies for free, donated three dollars.  Several people gave us ten dollars.  I also learned how very many people are drunk in the afternoons.  And that those drunk people do not get even the most basic of jokes.  I would go so far as to say that not even knock knock jokes should be attempted with afternoon drunks.

If you did not get to stop by the lemonade stand, but wish to contribute to Save the Children's efforts in Pakistan please do so, because for some reason this tragedy has not sparked the public reaction caused by the earthquake in Haiti or the tsunami. Where is George Clooney with a telethon?   Where is Julia Roberts?  No matter, here's how to help.

Save the Children

Pakistan Children in Emergency Fund