Once sold an item you could get in a doctors office for free (the plastic eye protectors for dilated procedures). If confronted with that fact just said that yes you can but I'm the only person selling them retail in this area. Sounds convincing and non-threatening.
The house across the street put out a sofa decades old with a free sign on it. Many people slowed down but none stopped. Till two guys in a VW Beetle. They looked up and down the sofa, back at their car, then took a hold of the sofa and lifted. "That things longer than their car", I thought, but soon I knew they where smarter than them all. They took the sofa, turned it upside down, and bounced it off the road three to four times then placed it back in the yard; picked up the change and bills, then drove off...
Love the title. Made me think of the "cult of personality " we have here in the states. "IBM super computer who was flying high in 2011 now works a food truck.". Sounds like something they would lead off a news show with. "And now Jim with sports..."
Barbara Bush was always one of my favorite people that I would have liked to sit down and have a cup of coffee with. Near the end of his Presidency, George declared a National Broccoli Day. When asked he said "no, I do not like broccoli and I am President and do not have to eat broccoli." I wished that on his first morning as First Citizen, Barbara would have made him a broccoli and cheese omelet telling him "Your no longer President, eat your broccoli."
Followed by the apocalypse and scattered misc. plagues.