To Buy Or Not To Buy An Adding Machine

My Uncle Snooks was a friendly sort of man and he always could find something for you to do so that you stayed busy.

Sometimes we took the soda pop caps out into the drive and parking area and poured them out so that cars wouldn't get mud on the doors and the ladies skirts or dresses got dirty when they came to shop. Sometimes we cleaned the front windows inside and out so that the vegetables area was sparkling. We put dust down powder on the wood floors to cut down on the dust and dirt. We stocked the shelves or straightened up the storage area.

Whenever he wasn't busy with giving us something to do he was adding in his head the accounts and the days receipts, or adding peoples charges to their accounts. When the collectors came in he would post the amounts paid to the store account ledgers. He would do this always in his head, and he was always to the penny. You could give him a number and he would tell you how many dimes, nickels and pennies were in the number.

One day while working outside a man drove up in a new Cadillac and said that he wanted to see the owner or the person who did the books. Someone took him into the store and introduced him to Uncle Snooks. He explained, "That he was selling the best adding machines and that so far he hadn't found anyone that couldn't do without one."

Uncle Snooks said that he had been adding for years in his head and didn't have the need for such a machine. The man told him all about the time saving that it would do for him and that it kept a running tape of the numbers so that they could be crossed checked, and Uncle Snooks still said no. The man tried many different ways to close him on the adding machine and everyone failed to close the deal for him. Finally in frustration the man said, I'll tell you what I will do. I will take this list of 50 numbers and you take the list of the same 50 numbers and I will add them on this machine and you can add them in your head and it your number is wrong then you will buy the adding machine ok. Is this a deal, Uncle Snooks said sure you have a deal.

By this time the store was full of people wanting to see what was going to happen and who was going to win.
Each was given the list of the same numbers and then when the man had finished adding them up he said. "sir what is the amount that you came up with." Uncle Snooks told the man his number and the man said, see I told you this machine was smarter that you. Uncle Snooks said now wait a minute I have added this list up three times in my head and got the same number all three times and you only added it up once. What it sounds like to me is that you hit the wrong key and made a mistake. Why don't you add it up again and see if you get the same number. As the man added the numbers again being very careful to hit the correct keys he got the same number that Uncle Snooks had originally.

Before anyone could say anything the man went to his car in a hurry but as a crowd had come uo he had to sit patiently in his car until he was able to leave.

It was quite a few years before we got an adding machine.

By: Palmer Waters