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 trashcan 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. 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. 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.
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