If you don't know the man in the picture, he is Pat Buttram, the actor that played Eustace Charleston Haney (Mr. Haney - on Green Acres).
Mr. Haney was the country conman that sold nearly everything from the back of his pickup truck. Haney may have been the creation of Hollywood but growing up in the country I knew many men that seemed to always come out of top when "horse trading" with others.
My dad was a pretty good trader, we used to frequent farm auctions to pick up deals every week. Dad would haul the items home, spray them off, touch up the paint and lube the moving parts. Something he purchased for $5 would then sell along highway 25 for $100 or more. I remember on more than one occasion hearing a buyer say I always check out what Slinkard is selling....he takes such good care of his stuff. LOL, he was right if by good care you mean a $1 can of spray paint and some oil shot on the moving parts..... One time a guy said, "....I'd like to see what all is in those barns, they must be packed - I man he is constantly selling off his stuff....." Yea, my dad was good at making a buck.
Growing up as a "trader" you have to be ok with understanding ethics can be sort of a fluid situation..... You don't exactly out right lie to people, but if they make assumptions ....which are wrong, well...that can't be your fought can it.....
Sometimes when trading takes place the "loser" comes away with bad feelings. I have seen grown men right out whine like a little bitch after a trade concluded. I won't mention any names (because he is still alive) but one night I was invited to join a card game at a local farmers house. Card games can be really fun events... they can also be deadly. The night I am talking about began with some trades.... I sold a few items, bought a few items.....and then we played cards.
The card game went my way.... probably because I was the only one not drinking. Have you ever played the game high-low-in between? It's a fun game, but if the cards fall the wrong way the pot can grow... and grow by leaps and bounds.
By 2 am I was up a couple thousand dollars, and had the title to the guys car. I had to work the next day and suggest we call it a night, that was when the farmer said, ".....mother f'er you're not going anywhere with my car....."
Believe it or not, I lost the car on the very next hand.... I bet a few hundred bucks and the car title on a pair of two's.....and left. The poor bastard who won the car's title told me the game continued until he finally gave the car title back about 5 am..... I laughed, I had made trades that Mr. Haney would have been proud of, and left the card game up hundreds of dollars to boot.
The grown man farmer (probably 15 or 20 years older than me) stopped by our farm the next afternoon..... I was just a kid, and he threatened to tell my dad I had been drinking and playing cards if I didn't give back the majority of what I had won. I did manage to keep a Winchester 22LR rifle (I still have it today). I never played cards or dealt with the little bitch farmer again.... you see some of the greatest of life's lessons can be learned learned playing cards....and watching re-runs of Green Acres, especially the parts with Mr. Haney.....
It's been almost 40 years.....in case the farmer reads this, .....the listening device I sold you for $300 (I bought new for $125)
