Summer Clean

“Shake it to the left, shake it to the right.
Come on, Bronco’s, fight, fight, fight!
Push ‘em back, push ‘em back; waaaay back!
Come on, Bronco’s let’s attack!”
Cheerleaders remind me of high school cheers chanted decades ago. But in the spring, the sight of bikini clad cheerleaders on street corners means it’s fundraising time for your local high schools.
Who? Teenage girls in bikinis and short shorts.
What? Car wash for a cause: Cheer Squad; Pom; Choir; DARE.
When did this rite of spring begin? As long as I can remember in the spring (and in the fall) you will find teenage girls doing car washes for cause on street corners. When my older sister was at Xavier, the girls were in one piece suits and shorts. By the time I was in high school, it was two piece suits and cut offs. By the time my younger sister reached high school, it was the “uniform” still seen on street corners throughout the West and South every spring: bikini’s, short shorts, and for the very smart girls, hats and sun screen.
Where? Small businesses or gas stations on street corners with a water source. In my neighborhood, it’s Artie’s Ace allowing a variety of groups to use his parking lot to wash cars and raise money.
Why did this rite of passage start? What do most teenage girls know about washing a car? How often has the teenage girl in your life washed her own car? My 17 year old great niece is thrilled that her Daddy washes her car for her. I can’t recall Loren ever washing a car. She’s a great kid; don’t get me wrong. But would I trust her with my car? Not a chance! But every weekend, on many street corners in my neighborhood, cheerleaders are out in force like wildflowers, holding signs about their car wash.
How does this succeed every weekend between February and May and between August and November? It succeeds because as Americans we like to see young people succeed; we want to encourage them especially when they are learning the American “art” of volunteering. So we let them ineptly wash our cars and cringe when they put our cars in gear.
So when you see a cheer leader on a street corner with a Car Wash sign, take a moment, let them wash your car and foster American entrepreneurship. Even, Down Under, American cheerleaders have a certain mystique.