mbarrassing “Salt Pile Power”

Before coming to San Diego, I lived in Compton in Los Angeles County for about three months. It has been known as one of the high crime areas in Los Angeles where there is a lot of violent crime, including murder.

For some reason, a friend of mine also lived in such a troubled area. One day, I visited him at his apartment. He seemed worried because he had recently suffered from a series of unlucky incidents in which some of his belongings had been stolen, including the car stereo and tires. Suddenly, he appeared to have gotten an idea and slowly went to the kitchen. He put a piece of paper on a clean plate and put a small pile of Hakata salt on it. Then he placed the plate outside the front door.

And, a few hours later.... Somebody knocked the front door loudly, so he saw the outside from the peep hole and found two police officers standing there. He opened the door gingerly. The police officers said with straight faces, pointing to the salt, “What’s this? Your neighbor reported us that you left drugs looking like cocaine outside.” Oh, my gosh!

We explained the “Salt Pile Power” that would bring many returns and happiness, and then, of course, asked them to taste it, but they didn’t buy our claim. After all, my friend ended up allowing them to search the place with his consent.

“No Salt, No Help”