"Balls," said the Queen

My friend Steph, who I hope to see tonight for dinner, once told me
about a ditty her mom recited to her as a kid:

"Balls," said the queen/"If I had some/I'd be king."

Over the course of this wretched week, I found two situations
illustrating the difference between having balls and being king.

Situation #1: I go to the frame shop to pick up a poster I dropped off
the prior week. When I walk in, the proprietor is measuring two
cartoon/illustration things for another customer, so I wait by the
counter. When the framing man quotes him a price, the costumer says,
"OK."

The proprietor starts writing up the order slip. As he scribbles, the
customer cheerfully asks, "if I pay cash, will you knock off the sales
tax?"

I make a face and let a little grunt of disgust pass my lips. (I also
crane my neck at the sales slip to see who he is so I can call the IRS
and report a suspected tax evader.). The proprietor is not happy at
being asked to break the law. He says, "no, but I can give you a
small discount.". The guy nods. "That would be great." I refrain
from punching him out of his Gucci loafers.

Situation #2: I am at Penn Station. A man who appears to be in his
early 60s approaches me. He is wearing a sweatshirt and jeans.

"Excuse me, but do you take the subway?" He asks.

I wrinkle my brow slightly and nod. Maybe he needs directions? Why
else would he ask?

"Would you like these two MetroCards? We're leaving for Boston today
and can't use them." He hands them to me and I thank him profusely. I
later discover that he gave me $28 worth of subway/bus rides.

Moral: (because I like hammering a point to my reader) a lot of people
haver balls, but few of them are kings.

--
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Blog: www.cussandotherrants.com
Book: www.offthebeatensubwaytrack.com