My uncle must be the most tightfisted person I know when it comes to money. He would rather not eat, or participate in an activity, if it meant that he would go even one cent above his self-imposed budget. This point was proven to us one time, when we decided to have a family picnic in the Botanic Garden.
Now this uncle decided to remain a bachelor because, in his opinion, marriage was too expensive--what with a wife, children, a home---no, that was not the life for him. We felt that it would do him good to socialize a bit, so we invited him to a family get-together. It was a really enjoyable Spring day, so we decided it was a perfect day to go to the park and enjoy the flowers.
Since everybody lives in different parts of the city, we agreed to meet at the front entrance of the Botanic Garden, at a set time, then from there go into the garden and just have a fun day. So there we were, waiting for everyone to arrive, so that we could all go in together. My uncle was the last one to arrive., but finally we were all there.
Somehow, we neglected to tell my uncle that there was an 8 dollars entrance fee (this is for maintenance of the park), we didn't think this was a big deal---BIG mistake. Everyone else paid the fee, was given a button to put on the shirt, and went in. Then it was my uncle's turn....wait a minute--he says--do you mean that I have to pay just to get into this park! why--yes, the cashier tells him, it's for the park upkeep. This made my uncle hysterical--this is the land of the free!!--- he screams at the poor woman, then turning to us --very agitated--says that we lied to and betrayed him! why did we not tell him that he was invited to a place that would swindle him out of his money. He would NOT pay a dime -- and said he would go back home.
We couldn't believe that he was making such a scene over a measly 8 dollars, but he was raging, his face all red....not caring one bit that by this time-- people were staring at him. This proved too much for my cousin's boyfriend, he took out his wallet and said--here! I'll pay the damn ticket! Just stop acting like a cheap madman. This did not sit well with my uncle--who told him, that no--he would not go into that park out of principle now---why should he pay just to see flowers and trees--no sir! and with that he turned around-- went back into the subway and went home.
