I guess he paid more attention to playin' jokes than
makin' sales. Finally the concern let him out and he
come right home here and told everybody he'd been
fired instead of sayin' he'd resigned like most fellas
would of.
It was a Saturday and the shop was full and Jim got
up out of that chair and says, "Gentlemen, I got an
important announcement to make. I been fired from my
job."
Well, they asked him if he was in earnest and he said
he was and nobody could think of nothin' to say till
Jim finally broke the ice himself. He says, "I been sellin'
canned goods and now I'm canned goods myself."
You see, the concern he'd been workin' for was a factory
that made canned goods. Over in Carterville. And now
Jim said he was canned himself. He was certainly a
card!
Jim had a great trick that he used to play w'ile he was
travelin'. For instance, he'd be ridin' on a train and they'd
come to some little town like, well, like, we'll say, like
Benton. Jim would look out the train window and read
the signs on the stores.
For instance, they'd be a sign, "Henry Smith, Dry
Goods." Well, Jim would write down the name and the
name of the town and when he got to wherever he
HYLAND
