Transcript: Planning a Paper Route

Matt: My younger brother Pete asked me to do him a favor. He needs me to take over his paper route for the next week. I said, no way, paper routes are for kids. I pointed out that I’ve already had grown-up type jobs: in a hair salon, in a bakery, and in a deli. He pointed out that those jobs didn’t last very long. So we made a deal. He agreed that if I did this for him, he would make me pancakes for breakfast every day for a whole month. On top of that I get to make a few bucks. I sure hope this doesn’t take too long. Let’s see. First on the list: the Collins. 6015 Tyndall Avenue.

Matt: Let’s see, who’s next on the list? The Delgado's at 601 Fieldstone. That’s 2 blocks away.

Matt: Now, off to the O’Hanlins it’s 6024 Tyndall Avenue. Tyndall Avenue? I was just there. This list is whacked--the names are listed alphabetically, they should be grouped by street. First I’ll circle all the houses on Tyndall, then I’ll put them in numerical order.

Matt: All this zigzagging across the street is ridiculous. This takes way too much energy. Huh! There seems to be a pattern. All the odd numbered houses are on one side of the street and the even-numbered houses are on the other side. This list should be organized by address. I’ll separate the odd-numbered houses from the even-numbered ones, and then I’ll deliver to all the addresses on one side of the street, and then to those on the other.

Matt: Pete conveniently forgot to tell me that the last delivery is at the top of this hill. I must protest. Pete will be hearing from my attorney. I see two months of pancake breakfasts in my future. I’ve got an idea. Sometimes you can solve a problem by working backwards, what goes up must come down. Instead of using a route that ends up at this house, I should start my delivery here. It makes more sense to have the truck drop off my papers at the top of the hill. It’s all down hill from here.

Matt: It’s day 30 of pancake breakfasts. I feel awful. I can’t eat another bite. I gotta get some exercise. Pete, can I take over your paper route? I’ll make you a deal. If you let me I’ll do your chores for a month. Please, two months.