This beautiful weather has made me remember something that happened on the last really warm day we had here a couple weeks ago. I was taking a walk around town when I spotted a little girl sitting on a fold-up metal chair behind an old metal TV tray on the sidewalk in front of her house. The TV tray held a large plastic bowl and a child's old pink ballerina jewelry box. I could not see what was in the bowl and just had to go over to find out what she was selling.
When I got close enough to see inside the bowl I still was not sure just what she was selling but I could tell it was some kind of bagged snack that had been poured into the bowl. Whatever it was it was not something I had ever eaten. So I ask her what she was selling. It turned out to be Funyuns, a fake onion ring snack made by Frito-Lay. I decided I was game enough to try them and asked how much they cost. She told me a quarter (25 cents). For the whole bowl I asked. No, for two she answered. Two I asked. Two she replied. Can I pick which two Funyuns I would eat I asked. Yes she nodded.
I gave her a dollar and she opened the jewelry box and took out three quarters, put in my dollar, and closed the lid. I reached into the bowl and picked out the two smallest Funyuns I could find and popped them into my mouth. A strong artificial onion flavor flooded my sinuses. I started chewing and it was like eating the potato chip crumbs that you find at the bottom of an old open bag of chips. Not exactly a taste treat sensation. I gave the little girl a big smile and made a "ummmmm" sound as I chewed. After I swallowed I thanked her and walked away.
The things I do to encourage a child's entrepreneurial spirit.
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