The Secret of Copywriting in 29 Words.

This caused me to question the answer of life, the universe and everything. Google told me 42.

Maybe you'll get a different answer. Google -- "the answer to life the universe and everything" without the apostrophes.

Well, if not the, one of the oldest here, turning 69 in 20 days.

Speaking of 10 years old. TWO life changing events for me in 1960. About 6 weeks apart, the first was being asked to pick flowers for a neighbor, the other being 'healed' by Ernest Angley and having my first Out of Body Experience. The latter a story for another day.

I was kicking a ball around in my back yard at 88 Nottingham Dr. in Tallmadge, Ohio. My neighbor, Mrs. Ilg, called for me to come over. She said she was having guests over in the afternoon and wanted some flowers from the field. The field across the street had been a nursery at one time and had gone to seed, but the Springtime came alert with colors of the perennials.

So I grabbed my little red Raido Flyer wagon and headed into the field and gathered a big wagon full. Mrs. Ilg picked out what she wanted, gave me two nickles, and told me to take them next store to her sister-in-law. I did, she picked some out and I headed home.

Then Mr. White, who routinely washed, waxed and detailed his car every Sat. morning called me over. After a brief conversation, he offered me a quarter to help him wax his car, and said he could give me some MAGIC WORDS to sell all the flowers in my wagon to the houses on the street. I wasn't much for selling, but MAGIC, WHAT 10 year old boy doesn't have a dream of being a magician.

So, under his instruction (Mr. White was a local insurance agent), I knocked on the first door, Mrs. Mitan answered, and I asked if she wanted to buy some flowers...which she laughed at the idea, responding with:

"Jay, I can walk out my back door and pick all the flowers I want for FREE."

She had a good point, because that is exactly what all the ladies and gentlemen would do, pick their own.

So, I ran back to Mr. White and he gave me the MAGIC WORDS. I thought they were silly, but, being an obedient child of the 50's, I went back to Mrs. Mitan's door and knocked.

She answered, somewhat annoyed, and before she could say anything, I blurted out the MAGIC WORDS.

"Mr. White was in the field this morning, and wanted me to tell you, he saw a lot of mice, spiders and a big black snake."

Something happened.

The color drained from her face as she repeated the words, SPIDERS, SNAKES AND MICE, and added oh my.

She asked how much, I told her a nickle and she reached in the ashtray full of coins by the door and handed me a nickle.

OK. Well in the next 10 minutes, I sold out my wagon. Made over 10 sales on the street where their back yards adjoined the field of flowers. It was magical.

Then I spent the next 45 mins, Wax On Wax Off, and got a quarter from it.

50 cents in 15 mins using MAGIC WORDS, 25 cents in 45 mins at manual labor.

LESSON LEARNT.

Mr. White sent me home with two books from his library.

Elmer Wheeler's TESTED SENTENCES THAT SELL and
Elmer Leterman's THE SALE BEGINS WHEN THE CUSTOMER SAYS NO.

That was my start in the use of MAGIC WORDS to get some moolah coming in.

GordonJ

PS. Like many, I too did the GRIT thing, seeds and junk from the comic books, and later at 16, I began to sell advertising on ACTION AD CLOCKS I had placed in barber shops, pizza joints and dry cleaners. Made more in high school than 5 kids combined.

PSS. It was sometime in the mid 60's that I first met Gary Halbert and Dennis Haslinger at a place in Akron called KRISTEE PRODUCTS a local mail order company, one of the oldest in the area. THAT story for a future time too, Gary was larger than life even before he became a Prince.

Be careful 'what you pull' you better hope I like it!

Treed to save an edit.

Aw, see -- now I got no clue whether to BLUB or SWOON.

tbh I'll take that over bein' default ditzbrain gal any day. - speshly if mosta them times are tamara an' the day after.

Big deal I see loomin' 'bout how a rampantly noomerous hoomankind gonna feed 'emselves sustainably an' healthily is how we all gotta start mnommnommnommin' on BUGS.

High in protein, cheapo to farm, an' potentially allurin' if'n we can figure smart ways to deliver 'em to our dinner plates while simultaneously magickin' away any notion they gonna creep around between potato an' broccoli before SUDDENLY leapin' up an' bitin' their mandibles on our frickin' tits, I figure bugs could be WINNAZ in the hands of a sufficiently pressganged copy person.

Tellya, thing I hate 'bout most burgers is how the meat squishes away fromya lips the harder you chomp.

Throw in a BUG BURGER, them chitinous legs gonna hold both sidesa the bap togethah like Velcro.