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The "They're Not Free" Chorus
Having dinner at a fancy-ish seafood restaurant on the Oregon coast, Mrs. Shirts and I were seated near the door and could see every customer who came in.
A large group entered--three adult men and eleven teenage boys. It looked like some kind of sports team and coaches. While waiting for the hostess to arrange a table for 14, the three men chatted while the boys goofed around in the waiting area. They weren't overly rambunctious or noisy; they were just being normal teenage boys.
One spotted the big jar of Andes mints on the counter, with its big, bold label declaring, "10 Cents Each / 3 for 25 Cents." He reached for it. One coach noticed and immediately said, "They're not free." The boy paused, muttered something, and went back to his friends.
Moments later, another boy spotted the mints and reached for them, getting as far as removing the lid from the jar. Both the coach and the first boy said, "They're not free!" He put the lid back and retreated.
Moments later, a third lunged for the mints. This time, two coaches and the two previous would-be mint-grabbers said, "They're not free." Third boy backed off.
Just before the hostess returned, a fourth boy, who apparently hadn't been paying attention to what was going on, thought a handful of mints would make a nice appetizer. He reached for them. In perfect unison, all three coaches and ALL the other boys said, "They're not free." He dropped the lid in shock and stared at them while a server nearby started turning red from laughing.
Way to pay attention to your boys, First Coach!
Way to keep your teammates in line, boys!
A large group entered--three adult men and eleven teenage boys. It looked like some kind of sports team and coaches. While waiting for the hostess to arrange a table for 14, the three men chatted while the boys goofed around in the waiting area. They weren't overly rambunctious or noisy; they were just being normal teenage boys.
One spotted the big jar of Andes mints on the counter, with its big, bold label declaring, "10 Cents Each / 3 for 25 Cents." He reached for it. One coach noticed and immediately said, "They're not free." The boy paused, muttered something, and went back to his friends.
Moments later, another boy spotted the mints and reached for them, getting as far as removing the lid from the jar. Both the coach and the first boy said, "They're not free!" He put the lid back and retreated.
Moments later, a third lunged for the mints. This time, two coaches and the two previous would-be mint-grabbers said, "They're not free." Third boy backed off.
Just before the hostess returned, a fourth boy, who apparently hadn't been paying attention to what was going on, thought a handful of mints would make a nice appetizer. He reached for them. In perfect unison, all three coaches and ALL the other boys said, "They're not free." He dropped the lid in shock and stared at them while a server nearby started turning red from laughing.
Way to pay attention to your boys, First Coach!
Way to keep your teammates in line, boys!
I love it. 
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