By Jim Hagarty
I walk into the second-hand shop.
“Can I help you?” asks the clerk.
“Yes, please. I am looking to buy an albatross.”
“Well, as you can see, our shop is full of albatrosses. Could you be more specific?”
“Sorry, of course,” I reply. “I am looking for a stand-alone cabinet with four shelves, two of them adjustable. I would like it to be made of pressed board, in other words, very cheap and wobbly.”
“And what do you want it for?” asks the clerk.
“To hold other, smaller albatrosses, many of which I have bought over the years in this very shop.”
“Certainly, sir. And how long do you see yourself owning this albatross?”
“I would like to trip over it three times a day for the next 10 years,” I reply. “At the end of that time, I will bring it back to you and donate it to the shop, hopefully with all the other albatrosses it will have been holding all those years.”
Clerk goes in back, comes out with big albatross.
“Oh, my. That would be perfect,” I comment. “How much?”
“Ten dollars,” says the clerk.
“You’re joking,” I say. I pay for it right away in case he changes his mind, load it up in my car and bring it home.
What a bargain!
These next 10 years are going to be great!
