The Texas Salesman

A keen Texas lad applied for a salesman's job at a city department

store.

The store was the biggest in the world and sold everything under the

sun.

"Have you ever been a salesman before?" the boss asked during his

interview.

"Yes, I was a salesman in Texas," the lad answered.

The boss took an immediate liking to him and told him he could start the

next day.

"I'll come and see how you made out after we close up," the boss said.

The day was long and hard for the young man, but finally it was 5

o'clock. The boss closed up the store and found the lad sitting, slumped

and exhausted, in a chair.

"How many sales did you make today?" the boss asked.

"One," said the lad.

"One?" said the boss, obviously displeased. "Most of the sales people on

my staff make 20 or 30 sales a day. How much was the sale worth?"

"Exactly $101,334.53," said the young man.

"How did you manage that?" asked the boss, flabbergasted.

"Well," said the lad, "this man came in and I sold him a small fish

hook, then a medium fish hook, and finally a really large hook. Then I

sold him a small fishing line, a medium one, and huge one. I asked him

where he was going fishing, and he said he was going down the coast. I

said he'd probably need a boat, so I took him down to the boat

department and sold him that fancy 22-foot Chris Craft with twin

engines. Then he said his Honda Civic probably wouldn't be able to

handle the load, so I took him to the vehicle department and sold him a

new GMC 1-ton pickup truck."

"You sold all that to guy who came in for a fish hook?" the boss asked

in astonishment.

"He didn't come in to buy a fish hook," the Texas boy explained. "He

came in to buy a box of tampons for his wife, and I said to him, 'Your

weekend's shot. You might as well go fishing.' "