111 Years Old

Working with money is a dirty job, but someone's got to do it. We have strict deposit instructions, no more than .99 in coin. I used to send all the one dollar, and half dollar coins in my deposit along with really old and worn out bills, then I was introduced to the deposit rules. That was awhile back and now I know. As a result, most of us buy the coins just to get them out of the drawer. I have quite the collection of gold & silver dollars, Kennedy half dollars, and such. Once someone tried to cash in a $2 bill signed by her dead mother. As she told me the story, I handed her two dollars out of my jar and told her to put it in her pocket. I do my best to maintain a professional relationship with work people. As a rule, I never give or lend money to the customers. But she got me with that story, as I happen to have a two dollar bill given to me by my mother the year they were issued, and would never consider spending it. Well, I suppose that is evident by the fact that I still have it 34 years later, and some of those years two dollars made a difference. I wondered later if she signed it in the parking lot before she came in, and now, no matter what the story, I just take the money.

The other day, a regular came in and said, "Can I have a paper dollar for this?", and dropped a coin in my hand. It was cool and heavy in my palm and I looked at it as I opened my drawer. When I saw that it was a 1899 silver dollar, I asked her if she was sure she wanted to spend it. Her response was, "There's a nick in the wing.", as she took her paper dollar and headed for her favorite machine. I never even put it in the drawer, replacing the paper dollar I had just given the customer with one out of my pocket. I carried it all night long and thought about how long it has survived in the world; how many transactions it had been a part of; how long it sat in a coin collection somewhere; how it got a nick in the wing.

I feet special to have become part of the journey. I called Mom to see if Nana had been born in 1899, but no, she was born in 1898 -- pretty damn close though, right?


Wishing you magical moments...have a great day!