He was hard of hearing, so he had no radio.
He had trouble with his eyes, so he had
no newspaper.
But he sold good hot dogs.
He put up a sign on the highway, telling 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 and he
bought a bigger stove to take care of his trade.
He 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?”
“There’s a big depression on. The international
situation is terrible, and the domestic situation
is even worse.”
Whereupon the father thought, “Well, my son has
been to college. He listens to the radio and
reads the paper, so he ought to know.”
So the father cut down on the bun order, took
down his advertising signs, and no longer
bothered to stand on the highway to
sell hot dogs.
His hot dog sales fell almost overnight.
“You were right, son,” the father said to the boy.
“We certainly are in the middle of a
great depression.”
