Ky;e 'What's His Name'

Kyle ‘What’s His Name’

            As I look back on my early memories I can’t forget old Kyle ‘what’s his name’. I am sure he had a last name but I can never remember it. I first knew him from when we were in grade school together.  And then we also were in school together through high school. But I never saw him much during that whole time.  And for that matter, nobody else saw much of him either.  Most students in our school deemed him as about three watts as far as intellect was concerned. And whatever he did was a mystery to all of us.  So after graduation we never saw him again.

            That is, for about fifteen years.  You see, our class decided that we would have a reunion celebration every five years until we were all dead. (Which could be any time now.)  And it was at our third such celebration that this story took place:

            We were meeting at Madisonville’s finest restaurant (the only one) and were almost about to eat when Jack came in laughing, “You will never believe who is outside and on his way in!  It’s Kyle. And he just parked his brand new Cadillac and is on his way in. Man, is he dressed to the nines!”

            Everyone became excited and each wanted to know – Kyle who?  When he came in we all greeted him and wanted to know exactly what he had been doing.  So we asked him.  And he was more than anxious to tell us.  He told us how he had invented some sort of a gadget that was used by nearly every manufacturing company in existence.  He then started manufacturing that whatever it was and selling it to all the companies that needed them.  He went on to say that it only cost him about a dollar for each one he made and that he then could sell it for three dollars. And to top it off he said that he sold about three hundred of those things a day.  Wow!  We began to ask him all sorts of questions then.  He finally stood up in front of us and explained, “I have learned a lot in my life.  For most of my life I have wondered how everyone else has done it.  But now I think I know.  I have learned that if I am careful about what I spend I can make it all right on my three percent profit.

            Now in my old age I think I know, too. Sut became a master sergeant and retired at the early age of thirty eight, and Kyle learned to live on three percent.  There is still hope for me. But I think I should have asked Kyle for a job. But think about it – If you ever think that you can’t make it just remember:  Stupidity doesn’t stop everyone.