Some think Otis is a fool but those of us who don’t think we are fools know that Otis is no fool…..I think! Otis is also a clever and conniving man and often thinks it a great pastime to pretend to be someone that he’s not.

What most residents of Andover don’t know about Otis is that he reads the newspapers everyday incessantly. He read about a man from Boston who had gotten in a bad car accident and had recently won a very lucrative settlement because of that accident.

The man was disfigured in the accident losing both of his ears, was very sensitive and self conscious about his loss but was determined to move on and make a better life for himself. Otis had read in the paper that this man was considering a move to Maine and wanted to open a computer business in Rumford and was looking for capable people to help him with his business.

Otis had an idea. He sent the man a phony resume and scheduled an interview. When Otis arrived for his interview, he noticed two other young, well dressed men ahead of him – assuming they too were there for the interview.

The first man entered the office for his interview and the earless man was quite impressed with the guy. At the conclusion of the meeting the man asked the young applicant if he noticed anything unusual about him. The young man replied, “Yeah, you don’t have any ears.”

Mr. Earless was quick to anger and escorted the young man to the door.

The second applicant entered and once again Mr. Earless was even more impressed with this applicant and at the conclusion of the interview asked the young man if there was anything unusual about him that he noticed. “Yeah, you don’t have any ears,” was his reply and was also tossed out the front door.

It was Otis’ turn. Entering the office he looked around and got a sense of what he was confronting. The interview went very well. You see, Otis is the master of deception, the ultimate in con. Mr. Earless was so impressed with Otis’ answers and his seemingly unbridled knowledge of just about any topic of conversation. He knew he wanted to hire Otis immediately but he couldn’t help himself. He asked Otis if he noticed anything about him.

“Yeah,” replied Otis. “I see you wear contact lenses!”

Mr. Earless was nearly blown over because Otis didn’t remark about his lack of ears and that he was so perceptive to notice that he indeed did wear contact lenses.

“I’m duly impressed!” said Mr. Earless. “Tell me how you could tell that I wore contact lenses.”

“That’s simple really,” answered Otis. “I figured that because you didn’t have any ears you couldn’t wear glasses.”

Mainard True