What are You Listening For

Two men were pushing their way through the crowds in New York City’s Times Square. They had to shout to each other to be heard above the din. One man was a native of New York, the other was a Native American from Oklahoma.

The Native American stopped suddenly and said to his friend, “Listen! Can you hear the cricket?”

His friend thought it was a joke. “Are you kidding?” he laughed. “How could anyone hear a cricket in this bedlam? You just think you heard it.”

“No, I’m not kidding,” he said. “Come over here.”

He walked over to a planter that was holding a large shrub and pointed at the dead leaves in the bottom. To his amazement, the New Yorker saw a cricket.

“You must have extraordinary ears,” the New Yorker exclaimed.

“No better than yours,” said the Native American. “It all depends on what you’re listening for. Watch this.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of nickels, dimes, and quarters. Then he dropped them on the sidewalk. People from as far as two blocks away stopped and turned to see where that sound had come from.

“See what I mean?” he said. “It all depends on what you’re listening for.”