Yard Work, Tom Sawyer style

Michael, in his bid for "Best Tom Sawyer Moment of 2008" has enlisted the kids' help in his gardening chores this morning. A certain niece and nephew are over and Michael took all the kids outside. "Here's how this works: I'm going to pop the weeds out, and you get to pick them up and put them in that box. And some of you can find the next weed for me to do." Immediately there was a scramble to get the first weed, followed by high-volume negotiations on who got to do the next one. The nephew, sensing that this may be a lucrative passtime, asked, "Uncle Michael, will you pay us for helping you?" Michael, without missing a beat, replied, "No, but I will say thank you very much." That answer did not in the least dampen the spirits of his helpers, who continued to vie for the coveted role of putter-in-box of the weeds.