Joe was a man who had endured a lot in his life. In all of his 70 years, he had lived in the same town. Never had he felt the urge to move away because most of the time he was too distracted with trying to survive in the current town to even dream of other places. In the end, he found happiness in selling fruit for a living. His best sale was watermelons. This helped him and his wife live a comfortable life for a long time. Even after she passed away, he continued to sell fruit at the same spot on the corner every day. Come rain or shine.
In the beginning
Joe was a simple man, who did not want a grand and lavish life. He wanted to live comfortably, but his standard for that was not as high as many others. He found that society made their lives far Joe never finished high school. He had come from a pretty broken home. His parents fought all the time, until one day his father just decided enough was enough, and he walked out on them for good. His mother started drinking and this left Joe having to fend for himself at a young age. His step-father, who married his mother a couple of years after his father split, was a mean man.
Joe often found himself taking the long route home on his bike just to avoid getting home at the same time as his stepfather. He wanted to sneak in quietly through his bedroom window so no one would see him. One day, when joe was 15 years old, he and his stepfather
had a terrible row. Joe’s mother sat in the corner crying to herself while nursing a beer. Joe decided he had had enough, and he ran away from home that night. He had a small amount of savings from mowing people’s lawns, but that was enough to get him to a city far enough away that he wouldn’t be found. The only thing he took with him (besides clothes) was a little watermelon fridge magnet that his grandmother had given him as a birthday present. She had told him watermelons would bring him happiness.
From the streets to selling watermelons
Joe met the love of his life when he was 18 years old. She was sitting under a bridge looking terrified. He went and sat next to her and offered her a bite of his apple. She looked at him questioningly and took the apple. From then onwards they would be joined at the hip. When Joe asked her to marry him, she was over the moon. They didn’t have any money to have a big ceremony. So, they gathered together with their friends and had a ceremony under the same bridge where they met. Joe’s best friend knew how much he loved watermelons. So, he brought a few along for everyone to feast on.
They spent the next few years trying to build a life together. Both of them wanted a simple life, with minimal stress. One day, Joe met a farmer who would change his life forever. He offered a job to Joe, where he would sell the fruit he grows on his farm. This included apples, oranges, bananas, and watermelons.
Years later he still sold watermelons
Years went by, and Joe’s fruit stand became quite popular. Many people would avoid buying fruit from big supermarkets and would pick up their weekly load from Joe on their way home from work. this became quite a profitable business for Joe, who had two children of his own now. He was able to pay the rent for their tiny home and put his children through school. both of them graduated, which made Joe extremely proud. This was something he had never achieved himself.
As joe grew old, he and his wife were still happily living in the same house. His children had grown up and moved into the big city a few hours away. He worried about them, but he knew he raised them to be smart. One day, a young man wearing a smart business suit came walking past Joe’s fruit stand. He stopped and admired the apples for a moment until he saw a sign that Joe had put up. It read: “Watermelons for sale! Buy one for $3, or three for $10.“
A smart watermelon salesman
Joe watched the man puzzle over this for a moment. then, he asked Joe for one watermelon while offering him $3,00. Joe obliged, and wrapped it up in brown paper. Next, the man asked for another watermelon and handed him another $3,00. The man didn’t walk away at this point. But, he reached into his wallet and took out another $3,00, and handed it to him, gesturing to the watermelons. Joe watched the man walk away with the three watermelons. He noticed the big grin on his face and the slight shake of his head.
the young man in the suit became a regular at Joe’s stall. Once a month, he would pay him a visit and buy three watermelons. Instead of paying $10,00 for the three watermelons, he would ask for them separately and pay $3,00 each. He and Joe never spoke a word to each other aside from the necessary sales agreements, and how-do-you-dos. This went on for about six months before the young man finally spoke to joe.
One day, as the young man walked away from Joe’s fruit stand with his three watermelons, he stopped in his tracks. He turned back to Joe and asked him why he is selling the watermelons for this price. He explained to Joe that he has been saving himself $1,00 every time he buys three watermelons. The sign said that three watermelons would be $10,00, but buying them individually only came up to $9,00. Joe just stared at him blankly. The man started to laugh and walked away calling him a silly fool. Little did the man know that Joe wanted to sell as many watermelons as he could. Which was why he came up with the clever sign in the first place.
