Lemonade

This past Thursday, I went out for a run. On the way home, I passed a lemonade stand. There was a huge team out there — at least five kids, maybe more. They had a sign that said “Lemonade $4.”

I told you these kids were relentless. Four dollars!? That’s insane.

As I was approaching, I heard them shouting to anyone who would listen, “Lemonade and Rice Krispie treats!” As I went running by, they targeted me with their pitch. All five of them.

“Lemonade!”

“Lemonade and Rice Krispie treats!”

“Lemonade!”

“Money goes to the tsunami victims!”

I turned my head at this last one. I thought, Wait, what? Are you serious?

I shouted, “I don’t have money. I’ll come back.”

They responded, “Okay!”

When I got home, I told Eileen about it. We leashed up the dog, grabbed 8 dollars (!) and walked down Kendall Ave. to the stand, which was about 7 blocks from our house. When we got to the corner of Kendall and Allen, about 3 blocks from our house, we were met by 4 kids who really wanted to pet Tember. We smiled as they gushed over her and then they said, “we have a lemonade stand over there.” Relentless, I tell you.

We let Tember off the leash and she walked/jogged with the kids until we called her back. We would then allow her to run up to the kids, who were a good 30 yards ahead of us. When we finally arrived at the stand, one of the boys was bragging about how cheap the lemonade powder mix was. I asked how much the lemonade was.

“Twenty five cents.”

And the rice krispie treats?

“Fifty cents.”

I checked the sign. It still said $4. I said, “Okay, we’ll take two lemonades and two rice krispie treats.” They poured our drinks while a little girl asked if Tember would bite. Eileen said, “no, but sometimes she licks people.”

The little girl giggled and said, “yeah, she just licked me.”

I gave the “cashier” two dollars. She said thanks. I waited. By my calculations, I had 50 cents coming.

A little boy whispered, “Did they pay us?”

The cashier showed no signs of knowing that she owed us 50 cents. On the one hand, you want to teach a lesson in good business — i.e. don’t cheat people out of their money. On the other hand, you’re a jackass to demand 50 cents from some kids who are donating the money to the tsunami victims.

We left. They all said bye to Tember.