by Dianne
A wise old
gentleman retired and purchased a modest home near a junior high school. He
spent the first few weeks of his retirement in peace and contentment.
Then a new
school year began. The very next afternoon three young boys, full of youthful, after-school
enthusiasm, came down his street, beating merrily on every trash can they
encountered. The crashing percussion continued day after day, until finally the
wise old man decided it was time to take some action.
The next
afternoon, he walked out to meet the young percussionists as they banged their
way down the street. Stopping them, he said, “You kids are a lot of fun.
I like to see you express your exuberance like that. In fact, I use to do the
same thing when I was your age. Will you do me a favor? I’ll give you
each a dollar if you’ll promise to come around every day and do your
thing.” he kids were elated and continued to do a bang-up job on the
trashcans.
After a
few days, the old-timer greeted the kids again, but this time he had a sad smile
on his face. “This recession’s really putting a big dent in my
income,” he told them. “From now on, I’ll only be able to pay
you 50 cents to beat on the cans.”
The
noisemakers were obviously displeased, but they did accept his offer and
continued their afternoon ruckus. A few days later, the wily retiree approached
them again as they drummed their way down the street.
“Look,”
he said, “I haven’t received my Social Security check yet, so
I’m not going to be able to give you more than 25 cents. Will that be
okay?”
“A
lousy quarter?” the drum leader exclaimed. “If you think
we’re going to waste our time, beating these cans around for a quarter,
you’re nuts! No way, mister. We quit!”
And the
old man enjoyed peace and serenity for the rest of his days.
