The Man Who Sold Hot Dogs

Open for businessThe Man Who Sold Hot Dogs
Author Unknown

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

He put up signs on the side of 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—and bought often. He increased his meat and roll orders. He bought a bigger stove to take care of his trade. He finally got his son to come home from college to help him out. But then something happened.

His son said, “Father, haven’t you been listening to the radio? There’s a big recession coming on! The European situation is terrible. The domestic situation is even worse!”

That made the father think, “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 meat and roll orders, took down his advertising signs and no longer bothered to stand on the side of the highway to sell his hot dogs. Sales fell fast, almost overnight.

“You’re right son,” the father said to the boy. “There just isn’t any business. No one even comes by any more!We certainly are in the middle of a great recession.”

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