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 used 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 trash cans.
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!"
