Also Sprach Cloyce

One of the long time plumbers I sell to, I'll call him Cloyce just to give him a name, doesn't always get the drift of a conversation. His snake had broke, and he was begging me to fix it ASAP if not sooner as he had no other. Reluctant to do so as I was way behind that day yet genuinely feeling bad for him, I agreed to do his major repair quickly, telling him to leave the unit and it would be ready in about three hours.

I got the job done as promised and Cloyce duly arrived to pick it up. "You know, Cloyce, you've been in business long enough that you ought to think about getting a spare machine," I told him. "If I'm not available or don't have a part you could be down for days, even a couple weeks"

"That's a good idea, Cosgriff. What's a new power unit cost?"

"$1900."

Cloyce responded, "Say, that's not a bad price. Do you have one in stock?"

"Yes, sir."

"Cool." Cloyce paused. "What would you give me as a trade in for mine?"

I sighed. "I can give you $300, Cloyce, if you want to do that, but it defeats the point of having a spare."

Cloyce stared at me, blank eyed and mouth agape. Then, I swear I could hear the opening chords of the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Also Sprach Zarathustra, growing in the background. As the melody grew, a new life came into Cloyce's eyes. His mouth pursed, and his eyes widened. You could hear the kettle drum roll as the music hit crescendo. "Ah. I get it, Cosgriff. Buy it as a backup."

"That's right, my friend."

He shook his head in agreement. "Let me try to get the money together then."

Yet as he left the old barn he said, "But $300 for my old one if I want, right?"

I sighed again, just a bit more heavily. "Yes, Cloyce, $300 trade in." Just when you think you've made an inroad...