For Writers: The cushy job was ringing in the mall, but those gigs usually went to little old ladies or volunteers that were willing to donate an hour or two of their time. Hired guns like me were put outside in the elements, usually in front of grocery stores, or when we were lucky, maybe inside the entry ways at Walmart or Kmart. Unlike some bellringers that just half-assed it, I would ring continuously, whether there were any people visible or not. And, I never sat down on the job. I would stand throughout the entire shift, sometimes up to 8 to 10 hours, and after the first hour or so, I pretended not to notice the piercing winds or the bleak Illinois Decembers. It was interesting observing the people that avoided eye contact with me, or the people that felt compelled to tell me that they had already donated. Sometimes war veterans would come up to me and tell me how much the Salvation Army had done for them. More than one even told me that they wouldn't give the sweat off their...