Back in the Thirties this guy drives his beatup Ford pickup down the dirt driveway to a farmhouse. In the back of the truck he’s got an extension ladder, three or four six-volt batteries, and a set of jumper cables. As he pulls into the front yard the screen door opens and a woman steps out onto the porch.

Now the driver of the old Ford pickup, we’ll call him Sam, knows that the man of the house is at the farmer’s market selling his produce.

Sam steps out of the pickup. "Mornin’ ma’am, could I speak with your husband?"

"He ain’t here right now," the woman says, "what can I do for you?"

"I’m the lightning rod man. I set up your lightning rod years back. It’s past time to recharge it so it’ll work proper when a storm comes."

Twisting her apron in indecision, the woman replies, "Better come back when my husband is here."

Sam tips his cap. "Glad to, ma’am. Only thing is, the charge-up is on special. It’s only $5. If I have to come back, it’ll cost $10. Your husband will be mad. It’ll cost him."

"What do you do?" the woman asks.

"I set my ladder against the chimney, climb up with my battery and cables, and charge the lightning rod."

The woman asks, "Why can’t my husband do that? He’s got a battery in his truck and we can borrow cables from our neighbors."

"“Fine, ma’am, if he knows what he’s doing. A lightning rod is polarized. Connect the cables wrong and — poof! Your husband and your house — gone in a minute."

The woman runs back inside and comes out with a Mason jar full of money. "See if that’s enough."

Sam counts the money. A bit short, but Sam allows as how he’ll be happy to charge the lightning rod anyway.

After going through the motions of this bogus operation, Sam comes back down the ladder. "You’ll be fine now, ma’am," Sam says as he gets into his truck. "See you next trip."

Epilogue: Did I might mention that $5 back then was like $200 today — only now they’re scamming us by resurfacing driveways and roofing with bad shingles.