This is a modern Nannie story. She and my wife go shopping when we visit. This time they took their coupons to a large supermarket in Murfreesboro. Nannie wanted a country ham, and sure enough, country hams were on sale for 99 cents a pound. Regular price was two dollars a pound.

So she picked out a 14 pound country ham and put it in the basket. At checkout, it rang up $28, so my wife, who has an uncanny knack for keeping up with each item, told the clerk that the ham was on sale. They checked, agreed that it was, and said that if it rings up wrong, its free. So they left with a free ham.

The funny part was the reaction of a shopper who used to buy from a peddler who came by on horseback. She simply could not believe that the ham was free. She knows first hand how much work goes into raising hogs and curing country ham, so why in the world would anyone give one away free?

We're back home now, but I'm sure she spent all afternood calling friends and astounding them with the story of the free ham.
Howard