Street Smarts

Eleven year old Frank Grady awoke while Nurse Charley was taking his vitals. His mind was more focused, clearer this morning and he said, “How long I been here?

Nurse Charley said, “Three days and four nights.”

When Frank was feeling stronger, Grandfather Jake took him to a quality restaurant. After putting in their order, Frank said, “Grandpa, you said you never cheated at cards. How come?”

“Morality is a tricky thing. One man you can trust with your wife but not with your money; one man you can trust with your money but not with your wife. Look and you’ll see that morality skips all over the place, yet each man assumes that his morality is an absolute truth and carved in stone.

“I took pride in not having to cheat. Here’s a lesson for you. A card mechanic I came to know confessed that he knew enough to win without cheating, but that it didn’t feel right for him to win unless he cheated—like he didn’t deserve to win unless he cheated. I felt guilty if I did cheat—he felt guilty if he didn’t cheat. The end result was the same in that each of us would end up with the other guy’s money in our pocket. Only difference was it took me longer.”