An elderly gentleman, having retired, bought himself a small home near a junior high school.
At first, his retirement was peaceful and relaxing. But soon enough, the new school year started. The following afternoon, three energetic boys, full of after-school excitement, wandered down his street, joyfully banging on every trash can they passed.
This noisy routine continued day after day, until the wise old man decided he needed to do something about it.
One afternoon, he approached the young drummers as they made their way down the street, clanging away. “You boys sure know how to have fun,” he said with a smile. “I love seeing your enthusiasm. I used to do the same thing when I was your age. How about this: I’ll give each of you a dollar if you come by every day and keep playing like you are now.”
The boys were thrilled and eagerly kept up their noisy trash can routine. A few days later, the old man met them again, but this time with a slightly sad expression.
“Times are tough,” he explained. “I’m afraid I can only give you 50 cents each from now on.”
The boys were a bit disappointed, but they accepted the deal and continued their noisy parade.
A few days after that, the clever retiree caught up with them again as they made their usual racket. “Listen,” he said, “I still haven’t received my Social Security check, so I can only pay you 25 cents each. Will that be okay?”
“Just a quarter?” the leader of the boys said, clearly irritated. “There’s no way we’re wasting our time banging cans for a measly 25 cents! Forget it! We’re done.”
And with that, the old man finally enjoyed his well-deserved peace and quiet.