The Man Who Sold Hotdogs

There was a man who lived by the side of the road and he sold hot dogs. He was hard of hearing, so he had no radio. He had trouble with his eyes, so he read no newspapers. But, he sold good hot dogs.

He put signs on the highway telling how good they were. He stood on the side of the road and cried: “Buy a hot dog, Mister?” and people bought. He increased his meat and bun orders. He bought a bigger stove to take care of his increasing trade. He finally got his son home from college to help him.

But then something happened. His son said: “Father, haven’t you been listening to the radio? Haven’t you been reading the newspapers? Theres a depression on. The European situation is terrible. The domestic situation is worse. Everything is going to nothing.”

Whereupon the father thought, “Well, my son’s been to college, he reads the newspapers, and listens to the radio. He ought to know.” So the father cut down on his meat and bun orders, took down his advertising signs, and no longer bothered to stand on the highway to sell his hot dogs, and his sales fell almost overnight. “You’re right, son,” the father said to the boy. “We certainly are in the middle of a great depression.”