Desert Pete's Pump

Do you remember the story of Desert Pete’s Pump? A rundown shack stood beside a seldom used trail in the California desert. Nearby was a well, the only source of water for miles around. At tin can was tied to the pump with a string. Inside was a message written on a piece of brown wrapping paper with a pencil. The note read:

"This pump is O.K. I put a new sucker washer in it and it ought to last for 5 years. But the washer dries out and the pump has got to be primed. Under the white rock I buried a bottle of water, out of the sun, with the cork end up. There's enough water to prime the pump but not if you drink some first. Pour in about 1/4 and let her soak to wet the leather. Then pour in the rest sorta fast and pump like hell. You'll get water. The well has never run dry. When you get watered up, fill the bottle and put it back like you found it for the next feller." - Desert Pete

The note makes a promise of all the water you need for your journey. But the note says you must first prime the pump in order to get the water. Now what would you do if you were parched and thirsty in the desert and found that note?

Well, the first thing you would do is go and dig under the white rock to see if there really is a bottle of water buried under it. You find the bottle of water — now you have to make a choice. Do you drink the water, or do you risk losing it all by pouring into the pump to prime the pump?

If the pump doesn’t work, you’ve wasted water you desperately need. But if it does, you not only have all you need, but even more than enough to help some other thirsty soul!