When I lived in The Shoals of Alabama (Muscle Shoals, Tuscumbia, Sheffield, Florence),
I banked at the Colonial Bank across from the FAME studios in Muscle Shoals.
I was waiting in line, and this frog comes in – yes, a FROG of all things – and sits down with a loan officer. The loan officer introduces herself as Patricia Whack. The frog says his name is Kermit – Kermit Jagger.
The frog says he would like to apply for a loan for $20,000 – to buy a boat and take a long trip up the Tennessee River. The loan officer (Patricia) is taken aback by the strangeness of the whole situation – a frog asking for a $20,000 loan! She uneasily tells Kermit Jagger, “Ida know. $20 grand is a substantial amount of money. You would have to have some kind of collateral, as security for repayment, to be forfeited in the event you are unable to repay the loan.”
The frog says, “I have this” and pulls out a porcelain Hummel figurine of a little Dutch boy and girl. Its kind of tacky but may or may not have any value – but certainly not $20,000.
Not wanting to turn the frog down herself, and aghast at the strangeness of the whole situation, she goes back and tells her boss, the bank manager.
The bank manager peers out of his office and sees the frog sitting there.
Patricia, the loan officer, says, “And when I asked if he had any collateral, he offered this!” and she shows him the Hummel figurine. “I mean, what IS this?”
The bank manager inspects the piece, and says, “It’s a knick-knack, Patty Whack! Give the frog a loan!”
As she walks away, the manager explains,
“Hey, his old man’s a Rolling Stone!”