Well Put

I've carried this life lesson with me since 1979 and it still holds up. The story starts with my winning a trip to the romantic Caribbean island of St. Thomas on the TV game show "Wheel of Fortune." True. On this adventure, we met another couple also in their first year of marriage, Linda and BJ. Tourbooks all suggested seeing Megan's Bay, one of the world's top 10 most beautiful beaches, so in our little rental car we wound our way up a mountain to an overlooking vista. Immersed in our photography, from nowhere, a hunky young local approached with a burro. This was looking like a robbery until he swiftly sliced an armful of hibiscus flowers from a bush and tied them to the burro's brow band. "Want me to take your picture?" SURE, we naively agreed. Then it all happened in a blink, the man lifted me off my feet and plopped me onto the animal, followed by Linda, then posed the men, took our cameras, shot several frames, handed them back and said, "$20." Relieved at our safety yet shocked at being snookered, we wailed, "whaaaa?" His response was well worth the investment, "Ebereebohdeegotagimmick, mon." To two marketing executives like my husband and me, few messages are as elegant or clear.