The scene was a tiny mountain village in a remote section of West
Virginia. An old mountaineer and his young wife were getting a divorce
in the local court. But custody of the children was a problem.
The mother jumped to her feet and protested to the judge that, since
she had brought the children into this world, she should retain
custody of them.
The old mountaineer also wanted custody of the children. The judge
asked for his side of the story and, after a long moment of silence,
the mountaineer slowly rose from his chair and said, ‘Judge, when I
put a quarter in a candy machine and a candy bar comes out, does it
belong to me or the machine?’