The worn out jacket and hat show that the person is destitute. Homeless people used to commonly sell pencils on the street.
The joke is that nobody interviews to be a pencil salesman. It’s not big business. It’s easy to sell pencils because they are everywhere, they’re dirt cheap, and everyone needs them. Well, not so much anymore, but this was 44 years ago.
The worn out jacket and hat show that the person is destitute. Homeless people used to commonly sell pencils on the street.
The joke is that nobody interviews to be a pencil salesman. It’s not big business. It’s easy to sell pencils because they are everywhere, they’re dirt cheap, and everyone needs them. Well, not so much anymore, but this was 44 years ago.