The Man Who Sold Hot Dogs

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 up signs on the highway telling passersby how good they were.  He stood by 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 trade.  Business was booming.  He finally got his son home from college to help him out.  He just got a good education.  But then, something happened.

His son said, “Father, haven’t you been listening to the radio?  Haven’t you been reading the newspapers?  There is a big depression.  The European situation is terrible.  The domestic situation is worse.”

Whereupon the father thought, “Well, my son has been to college, he reads the papers and he listens to the radio, and 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 out on the side of the highway asking people if they wanted to buy a hot dog.  And his hot dog business fell almost overnight.

“You’re right, my son,” the father said to the boy.  “We certainly are in the middle of a great depression.”