As a callow and innocent youth we were poor. There were four of us children, with just one rubber boot to wear in the winter, and if it wasn't your turn to wear it you had to go to school in the snow barefoot (of course, our clothing was rags). Oh sure, I had to empty it of the melt water before wearing it on Monday but I know how to pour stuff out of a boot without any directions at all. And our grades were outstanding -- academically we were beyond the top of our class, in fact, we were beyond the top of all the schools in town. Every night we'd study and try to keep warm by the light of wick burning in an old tuna can of used oil -- fish oil, motor oil, whatever. We didn't use it for cooking as we almost never had anything to cook or even eat. But we all succeeded in Life and made our loving Mother proud of us. Salvation Army? -- we never asked for anything, but worked, hard sweaty work, for everything.