SMILE AWHILE
Family Communication

Two sisters, one older and one younger, inherit the family ranch. Unfortunately, after just a few years, they are in financial trouble. In order to keep the bank from repossessing the ranch, they need to purchase a bull from the stockyard in Ft. Worth so that they can breed their own stock. They only have $600 left. Before leaving, the younger woman tells her older sister, "When I get there, if I decide to buy the bull, I'll contact you to come after me and haul it home.”

The younger sister arrives at the stockyard, inspects the bull and decides to buy it. The man tells her that he will sell it for $599, no less. After paying him she drives to the nearest town to send her sister a telegram to tell her the news. She walks into the telegraph office and says, "I want to send a telegram to my sister telling her that I've bought a bull for our ranch. I need her to hitch the trailer to our pickup and drive out here so we can haul it home."

The telegraph operator explains that he'll be glad to help her and then adds, "It's just 99 cents a word." Well after paying for the bull, she only has $1 left. She realizes that she'll only be able to send her sister one word. After a few minutes of thinking, she nods and says, "I want you to send her the word "comfortable." The operator shakes his head. "How is she ever going to know that you want her to hitch the trailer to your pickup truck and drive out here to haul that bull back to your ranch if you just send her the word ‘comfortable’ and nothing else?"

The younger sister explains, “My sister is getting older and her eyes aren’t what they used to be. The word comfortable is big. She'll read it very slowly...com-for-da-bull."