Finally, they went to the fair , and Walter said to Ethel , " Ethel , you know I ' m 87 years old now . If I don ' t ride that helicopter this year , I may never get another chance . " Once again Ethel replied , " Walter , you know that helicopter is 50 dollars and 50 dollars is 50 dollars . "
This time the helicopter pilot overheard the couple ' s conversation and said, " Listen folks , I ' ll make a deal with you . I ' ll take both of you for a ride ; if you can both stay quiet for the entire ride and not say a word I won ' t charge you! But if you say just one word , it ' s 50 dollars . "
Walter and Ethel agreed and up they went in the helicopter . The pilot performed all kinds of fancy moves and tricks, but not a word was said by either Walter or Ethel . The pilot did his death - defying tricks over and over again, but still there wasn' t so much as one word said. When they finally landed , the pilot turned to Walter and said, " Wow ! I ' ve got to hand it to you . I did everything I could to get you to scream or shout out , but you didn ' t . I ' m really impressed !"
Walter replied , " Well to be honest I almost said something when Ethel fell out but , you know , 50 dollars is 50 dollars!"
