If you are under 30, you might not be familiar with the phrase, "A penny saved is a penny earned." I wish I could take credit for the origination of the phrase, but I can't.
Last month we were on a shopping trip to downtown Traverse City requiring us to park the car in a lot along the banks of the Boardman River. Parking meters greeted us as we exited our vehicle to begin the junket. I fished around in my pockets looking for change but found that they were empty.
That didn't present a problem for long. I happened to glance down to the base of the parking meter and spied several coins lying at my feet that would satisfy the hungry beast. What are the chances that I would find exactly what I needed, right at that moment? Where, I wondered does this "free" money come from? Was it just my lucky day?
Several weeks later, I found myself in a grocery store parking lot. As I approached the store, I spied a newspaper vending machine near the entrance. Again, with no change in my pocket, I made a mental note to get some change at the checkout so I could buy a Record-Eagle. In typical senior-moment style, the whole idea escaped my memory bank while I was gazing at the peanut butter and jelly display. As I exited the store and saw the newspaper machine, I came to my senses and realized I'd forgotten to get the three needed quarters.
With my arms full of groceries, I proceeded to my vehicle. I deposited my purchases in the Jeep and started back for the store, mildly cursing myself for having forgotten to get my newspaper money. No more than halfway back to the store entrance, I happened to look down and there they were, three quarters lying in the parking lot. I thanked the Lord for my good fortune and fed them into the vending machine, happily plucking out my "free" paper.
Why is it that many folks have such disregard for small change? I have witnessed people leaving the drive-up at fast food establishment, tossing change they received out their car window. My eyebrows always go up when I see someone not bothering to pick up a dropped coin in a checkout line. It is almost as if it is beneath their dignity to stoop down for small change. Is anyone I know watching me when I bend over to pick up a dropped coin? Sometimes wonder if I am a victim of a "Candid Camera" episode in the making.
The practice of disregarding the value of money, no matter how small the amount, is very curious to me especially in these economic times. I suppose it goes back to my childhood and to a day when one could actually buy something with a penny or a nickel. Today, there isn't anything that I know of that you can buy with a penny. Vending machines and other coin-operated devices won't even accept them. Sadly, the era of the penny gumball machine is in the past.
Many stores have a little dish of pennies at their cash register that customers can use if needed to complete a transaction. There they are, free for the taking!
The U.S. Mint has even considered doing away with the penny, since it now costs 1.7 cents to manufacture one.
When I was a boy, it was considered good luck if you found any money, even a penny. It was an especially good sign if Abe Lincoln was facing up when you discovered your find. If you ever found a quarter, it was a blue ribbon day. Keep in mind that you could buy a bottle of Coke for 10 cents and a Hershey bar for a nickel back then. Finding a nickel or a dime resulted in a trip to the candy store. Sometimes my pals and I searched under the bleachers at the school football field. We would poke around picnic tables in the park and search between the cushions of the sofa and Dad's easy chair. We even checked the coin return slots in the pay phones and retrieved pop bottles out of Dumpsters for the whopping 2-cent deposit refund.
Years ago, my father taught me about the value of money and even fashioned a bank for me out of a coffee can. His simple lessons in economics have stayed with me and over the years those saved pennies, nickels and dimes helped to pay for several family vacations and a fishing lure or two.
Occasionally I consider myself somewhat eccentric as I pick up a lost penny from the sidewalk. By the way, it was Benjamin Franklin who said, "A penny saved is a penny earned," so I guess my quirky little habit is not too off the wall. The way things are going, I have a feeling that I might start meeting some competition out there in the parking lots.
Ed Hungness and his wife owned their cottage on Fife Lake for six years before moving there after his retirement in 2005. His writing draws from life experiences and a love for the outdoors and northern Michigan. He can be reached at edhungness@yahoo.com or care of the Record-Eagle.
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