He Was A Great Businessman Poem by Mark Nichols

He was a great Businessman

Started by selling lemons
To kids who paid him to learn to make lemonade
And sell that

During college while other entrepreneurs
Were inventing stuff and patenting widget and doodades
My friend took the course of least resistance
And started
Billy Bob's Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite Big Bed Barn
That went real well for a couple years

He sold lots of used beds
With his patented fumigation technique
Then sold that to Goodwill
Who later licensed it to all the other used stores

My buddy started a 99 cents store
Chained em up all over our state
Later bought out by Bixbies
Which you wouldn't know unless you're from Alaska

Did the whole worm farm thing
Knuckled under during the recession
Bought land in China
Sold it back to the Tibetans
Which got him into big trouble
Paid so many bribes he eventually found himself
Crazy and
Screaming on top of Everest
The very top
From where he jumped
With one of them winged suits
It was a great ride
A real great ride

He is still alive
He lives in Kathmandu
In a crumbled church
And he wears no footwear
And he avoids stepping on beetles, ants and even fleas

Life took a toll on my friend
But I'd love to be with him again
At the lemon stand
Where we learned about making stuff and selling it
He was a good friend