Years ago, a cabin stewardess, Maria, was working one of the upper decks on a large cruise ship. On a particular cruise, one passenger traveling alone in one of the ships largest suites required almost constant attention, with many requests for extra towels, room service meals, etc. Thus, as the last night of the cruise approached, Maria was expecting a rather substantial gratuity. (For you youngsters in the audience, years ago the tradition was to distribute tips on the last night of the cruise to your cabin steward/stewardess, your waiter, your busboy, etc.) Finally, the last night of the cruise arrived, and Maria contrived to enter the mans stateroom just as he was preparing to go down to dinner. As the man donned his dinner jacket (again, for you youngsters in the audience, passengers used to dress for dinner), he said to Maria, Oh, by the way, Ive left a little something for you there on the dresser. Maria turned to the dresser and discovered that, rather than the little envelope stuffed with the money she was anticipating, the cheapskate had left her exactly three pennies. She spent a few seconds weighing the pleasure of telling him off versus the necessity of keeping her job, and she finally hit upon the following scheme. She said to the man, You may not know it, but I have a bit of Gypsy blood in my veins. Would you permit me to use these three coins to tell your fortune? Why, that sounds intriguing, replied the passenger, Please proceed. Maria then asked the man to extend his hand, palm up, and she arranged the three pennies heads-up in a triangle on his outstretched hand. After making a few magical passes over the coins while murmuring nonsense in her native language, she selected one of the pennies, held it up to her ear, cocked her head, and listened with evident concentration, as though Abraham Lincoln were speaking to her. She then said, This coin tells me that you, sir, are a very frugal man. Not a big stretch of a guess, since he had just stiffed her. Why, thats correct, replied the passenger in amazement, I pride myself on knowing the value of a dollar. I thought so, replied Maria, as she placed the coin on the table. She then repeated the magical passes, selected a second coin from his palm, and repeated her listening performance. This coin tells me that you, sir, are a bachelor. Once again, she had a pretty fair notion, since he was traveling alone in a huge suite. Thats exactly right! exclaimed the amazed man, I have not yet found the right woman. I thought so, replied Maria, as she placed the coin aside. Once again she performed the magical passes, placed the third coin to her ear, and listened intently to Old Abe. She then said, And this coin tells me that your father was also a bachelor. --unk
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 13:03:30 +0000
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