My kids, who are obsessed with every infomercial that comes on TV, have tried with all their innocent might to convince me that I MUST have so many various products over the years. If I listened to them, I’d be the proud owner of the “Aircurler,” “Wraptastic,” “Dream Lites,” and “Magic Mesh.” This is why I was not surprised at all when we went to the grocery story yesterday, and my kids were completely fixated and drawn to the knife salesman in the middle of the store.
With blinking lights shining on the ceiling, his voice energetically carried over the store loudspeaker: “You have two minutes to follow the flashing light for your free gift. That’s right…a free gift in two minutes!” Like a bug attracted to the bug light, my kids flew through the store. The show with the free gift was about to start, and there was no way they were missing it.
The knife guy drew us in telling us to come close, because he’s not allowed to throw knives even though they are free gifts. He then very charismatically peeled, diced, sliced and created melon baskets, cucumber whales and perfect curly Q french fries. The kids no longer were the only ones mesmerized. Now the parents were “oohing and aahing” and asking questions. I left to finish the grocery shopping, and when I came back, my husband and a friend we had bumped into in the store were loading their baskets with knife sets. Really? My husband doesn’t fall for ANYTHING! I looked around and noticed everyone else was loading their baskets with the knife sets, too. This guy, this salesman, was GOOD!
I eyed him suspiciously. What had he done with my logical husband? I walked over to him. ”How did you do that?” ”I’m not a salesman,” he announced proudly. ”I’m a professional actor, and I know how to give a good performance.” Cheeky, don’t you think?
Whatever…I had to share the story. Yep…the power of the arts once again has proven itself to be beneficial. This guy had talent. Forget marketing, sales and business classes, coeds! Just take acting, because it can help you achieve anything you want. Oy vey!
My song of the day is “Mack the Knife,” of course. What else could it be? Click HERE to see Bobby Darin perform it live. He is the epitome of charm and charisma. Eat your heart out, grocery store knife guy!
