|
Trashcan Music
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."
The 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!"
|
