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July 19, 2005
LBJMDB/RR: The poster in the window
On my walk home from work yesterday, I saw an LBJ campaign poster in the window of Second Story Books, a used bookstore near Dupont Circle. It features a large black-and-white photo of a grinning LBJ above the words "A Great Leader ... A Great Democrat." Naturally, I went inside to inquire about it.
With the help of a store employee, I removed the poster from the window and examined it. It appeared to be in very good condition.
"How much is it?" I asked.
The employee squinted at the barely legible markings on the tag.
"It’s two hundred," he said.
I expected it to be $25 or $50 at the most. Two-hundred was way too much (for me, anyway. Maybe it's a bargain for an original campaign poster). But I continued looking at the poster as if I still might purchase it. Why did I do this? Why not just be honest and say "Gosh, two-hundred? I can’t afford that!" No, I had to stand there carefully examining the poster as if my highly trained eye was searching for tiny defects.
"Hmm," I said finally. "I’ll come back."
"Right," the guy said.
Posted by teb at July 19, 2005 10:54 AM