Distracted, Jim headed over to the Frogurt machine. It didn't occur to him to think that this was an odd place to be selling frozen yogurt.
The machine appeared to be self-serve, so he selected chocolate (his favorite flavor) and dispensed a rather large serving. To one side, under the "free sprinkles" sign, was a selection of toppings. The sprinkles were quite appealing, not only because of the special, but because they had a unique sparkle to them. Jim had never seen a topping quite like this before, so he heaped spoon after spoon of the shiny stuff onto his chocolate Frogurt. After all, he thought, they are free!
As he turned around, he came face to face with an old man. "Oh, hi!" he said, startled. "I figured this must be self-serve. Is that okay?"
The old man gave him a knowing look and winked. "Each of us must make his or her own choices," he said cryptically. Jim paused for a second while he played that back through his mind a couple of times. Nope, he thought, still cryptic. He decided to let it go, and assume that the old fellow was just saying "Yes" in an eccentric sort of way.
"I'm looking for a present for my girlfriend," Jim said. "What have you got?"
"You already have what you need," the shopkeeper said.
"No," Jim responded slowly, thinking the man must be a bit senile, "the Frogurt is for me. I need a present for my girlfriend."
The man smiled as if he knew a secret. "There is nothing more here for you," he said to Jim. "You already have what you need."
By this point, Jim was frustrated with the odd banter and gave up. "Okay, okay," he said, as he turned and walked to the door of the little shop. "I'll be going now. How much do I owe you?" When he turned back, the old man had disappeared. "Hello?" Jim called. There was no response.
Tue Aug 4 01:30:33 1998