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
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!"

And the old man enjoyed peace and serenity for the rest of his days

You can visit my home page at:
http://www.ica.net/~abdul/main.html