Clowns On Wall Street

Have you ever wondered who's really running the stock market?

"Sir, Bingo the Clown is here for his interview."

"Thank you, Miss Phelps, send him in."

"Yes, sir."

"Now, where is that phrase . . . secret meanings . . . secret meanings . . ..  Ah, Mr. Bingo, please have a seat, and keep those big shoes off the desk, if you will . . . best to put them on the coffee table.  Now, I understand you're interested in working for us?"

"Well, I read the description of the job in the ad, and I decided that it's for me."

"Well, then, just how much experience do you have in a stock brokerage firm?"

Well, sir, I was a top stock broker on Wall Street.  I had an office with a killer view of Manhattan."

"But, ehh, you're a clown."

"It puts people at ease, sir.  They walk into the office, they're scared of making investments, they see a clown  seated at the desk, then they don't feel so nervous.  Calming the nerves of your clients is the only way you can be trusted with other people's money."

"So, how did you end up here in Yankton, South Dakota?"

"Well, sir, I lost my job in New York when I mis-invested people's money in a hare-brained transportation scheme."

"A transatlantic bridge?"

"No.  High-speed rail in Ohio."

"Oh, dear."

"So I got transferred to Philadelphia, where I had an office with a killer view of Camden, New Jersey . . . I took the hint and resigned.  I came here to South Dakota to start over, and hopefully I'll make my way back to New York one day."

"But Yankton?"

"Well, sir, Tom Brokaw is from Yankton, so I came to find the inspiration that Brokaw found here."

"His inspiration was Yankton.  He was inspired to leave."   

"Pity, it's such a nice town.  I moved here two months ago, I've already had several jobs at children's birthday parties and a gig at a supermarket opening."

"Then why be a stock broker?  Why not just be a clown?  Why not run away and join the circus?"

"I did that, sir, that's I got to work on Wall Street."

:-O