All this recent hot weather got me to thinking about a hot summer day long ago when one of my schoolmates and I decided to open a lemonade stand. His name was Jimmy, and he lived in the next block. We were probably about ten years old.
We set up shop on the sidewalk in front of his house. Instead of the traditional lemonade, however, we were purveying Kool-Aid at two cents per little Dixie Cup.
We had served several customers when a big semi-trailer stopped across the street. The driver hopped down from the cab and came over to us. He must have been very thirsty to stop at a kid's Kool-Aid stand.
He gave us two pennies, and we poured him a cupful, which he swallowed in one gulp. Obviously it didn't slake his thirst. "I'll tell you what," he said. "I'll give you a nickel for whatever is left in that pitcher."
A nickel? Zowee!
Jimmy accepted the five cents while I poured, but there wasn't enough left to fill the Dixie Cup more than 2/3 full. Jimmy immediately grabbed the pitcher and started off, saying excitedly, "I'll go make some more!"
The truck driver tossed back the contents of the cup and said, "That's okay. Never mind," and went back to his rig, climbed in, and drove off.
Jimmy watched the truck trundle down the street for a few seconds, then turned to me and said very decidedly, "That guy got gypped."
Yes, he did. Because we kept the nickel.
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