The Wise Man
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. 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!"
And the old man enjoyed peace and serenity for the rest of his
days.