Stay in School, Kids!

The following is a true story...

My two sons and I were in Fort Collins this afternoon to make a purchase at the Guitar Center with some recently acquired sixteenth birthday funds. Following the successful purchase of a "Boss MD2 Mega Distortion Pedal", we headed over to the Bible Superstore to purchase a few CD's and possibly a book or two for me. I picked up "A City Upon a Hill" by Larry Witham which is subtitled, "How Sermons Changed the Course of American History." Compare that with my oldest (the sixteen year old) son's purchase, a compilation CD from "Facedown Records" entitled "Something Worth Fighting For". You would have to hear it to understand the contrast (note his purchase at the Guitar Center). My younger son (13) purchased the new one from Reliant K, "The Bird and the Bee Side." Following our shopping spree, we were parched and decided to make a quick stop at a nearby 7-11. We each selected a 64 ounce "Double Gulp" and filled our cups (more of an industrial sized drum to be honest) and headed for the cash register. Now, this is where you will want to pay close attention. My youngest son was to pay for his own and so leave him out of the mix for the moment. My oldest son was to pay for his and mine (part of the bribe necessary to get the trip to Fort Collins and the Guitar Center). Our two drinks totalled $3.39. My son handed the clerk (male, 20-something, tall, anglo) a ten dollar bill. The clerk started to process the transaction, drew a blank look, and then cursed--something like "darn". I asked, "no change?". He answered, "I accidently entered a five instead of a ten. Now I don't know how much change to give you." Before we go on...let's recognize that the cash register showed him the wrong amount of change to give me because of his error in entering "$5" instead of "$10". To be exact, it said $1.61. Now, back to the story... A few moments passed and the clerk shouted at his nearby fellow clerk, "You're pretty smart....what's $10.00 minus $3.39?" Of, course the answer was $$6.61--exactly five dollars more than the incorrect cash register display.

The moral of the story--stay in school, kids!