I stood up and handed the card on the school help bulletin board to the man standing behind the counter at the Farmers' Food City in Los Angeles. Before I could speak, he frowned and shook his head.

"This is an arduous task for any high school student." He said, "I need some tall and strong people."

At the age of 16, I looked younger, almost 5 feet tall. "Indeed, we need some taller people," he said. "You'll find something simpler than this, son."