What a day. From the ridiculously sublime to the sublimely ridiculous. or something.→[More:] So, I'm standing by my workstation and this thin guy in a trenchcoat walks past me. I look up and it's JOHN FUCKING WATERS! He was in too much of a hurry to talk, but he gave me a look that said 'yeah. I am who you think I am.' We all gawked a bit from a distance when he was at the register.'

Then later, some guy came in with a trunkful of books. Smelling a tip, I offered to unload them. I get to his trunk and they're not boxed but loose which made it even more work. I finally get him inside and he says "Thank you. I'm going to give you my card. Call the number on it in one year." I was wondering if this dude was involved in some kind of crazy-ass Pay It Forward deal. Long story short, we reject most of his books, he made about $60, and I cart his stuff back to his car. He stops and says "Let me explain the card. I lived here in this neighborhood for 4 years until a woman broke my heart. tehn I found this company and they saved my life. It's multilevel marketing for electricity. You get paid every time your customers pay their utilty bill. It'll be in New York in a year."

I wanted to say "Take your Enron Ponzi scheme and shove it, Slick. Gimme five dollars for busting my ass.' Instead I just nodded.

Jeez. I worked commissioned sales for 4 years. My dad was a salesman. Neither of us went around handing out cards and giving slick speeches to starngers. there's a difference between honest salesmanship and simply being a snake-oil dealer. Sheesh.