A man is sitting with two friends, drinking some wine outside his home in a small town in the middle of nowhere. They laugh as they share stories, remembering the younger years.

One of them, Paul, in a moment of weakness, tells his close friends:

"Guys, I’m gonna have to sell my horse. Me and the Misses ain’t doing so great right now, as you both know."

"But it’s gonna be OK. I figure I can get about a million dollars for my sweet Betsy. She’s the finest mare around these parts, after all."

The man’s friends bust out laughing hard, holding their stomachs like they’re trying to stop the ache.

"Paul, my friend," one finally says, "I know you need the money, and hey, Betsy’s sure special, but she ain’t worth a million dollars. C’mon, get real here."

"You’re too funny, Paul."

Paul’s face turns red with anger.

"Y’all don’t know a damn thing about horses. That’s all. Betsy’s worth more than that. I raised her myself."

His friends start laughing again, making Paul even madder.

"I’ll make a bet with y’all. I’m gonna put a for-sale sign on her and make her stand right over there by the road."

"Watch me get a million dollars easy."

His friends keep laughing, like Paul’s turned into a stand-up comic.

"OK, OK, Paul. If you say so."

A week later, Paul’s friends drive by his old place and see Betsy there, just like he promised. A sloppy sign’s stuck to her sides, like a saddle.

"Guess Paul’s screws are coming loose," one of them mutters.
Three more weeks pass, and it’s time for the good old friends to get together again. Paul’s the host for the evening, as usual.

Paul’s friends can’t help but notice Betsy ain’t around.

"Paul, what happened to Betsy? I thought you had her out front. Did you give up on selling her after all?"

"Nope, I sold her, like I told you I would," Paul grumbles.

"How much you get for her?" a friend asks.

"Full asking price, like I told you both I would."

The two friends look at each other, totally shocked.

"How’d you get that money, Paul? You ain’t even got a bank account no more."

Paul looks at his old friends and finally says, "I ain’t stupid. I’m not gonna risk getting any government in my business."

"They paid me with them two dogs you see over there. They’s worth five hundred thousand each."

--

Afterword

My father told me a version of this story long long ago. As a matter of fact, I'm kind of surprised I had not shared it on my blog this whole time.

Believe it or not, I would use this story as a sort of ice breaker, a negotiating tool of sorts, when I was in charge of buying used instruments in my Samash Music years.

A lot of people walked in with the idea that their guitar, because it was old, was valuable, without taking into account that there's a difference between vintage guitars and old junk.

Anyways, I think the story is hilarious, but it also has a powerful message about perception of value.

MenO