I consider myself an honest person, almost to a fault. So the next morning, I went back to the store to pay for the jar, where I summoned the young associate manning customer service to explain what happened, probably ad nauseam, as his expression turned to bewilderment or stupefaction when I related how it was all a purely innocent mistake that I wanted to rectify. His face went blank when I asked if I could have the senior discount on the price, $3.80, especially since I thought it shouldn’t cost more than 50 cents.

Jese Ventura’s no fool when it comes to performance. He’s more than a TV personality. Before he was elected the governor of Minnesota in 1999, he was a professional wrestler, and before that, a Navy SEAL-turned-member of an outlaw motorcycle club in San Diego.  He’s appeared in a number of movies and TV shows, and has lectured at Harvard University. When I mention to Ventura that he taught one of the most popular courses at Harvard, he quickly cuts in to correct me: “It was the most popular. My class was the biggest class in Harvard history.”  Read Christopher Karr's interview with Jesse Ventura.