One goal, accomplished

I seem to always find pennies in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven. Most of the time, I pick them up because I think it’s good luck. And once in a while, I find a date stamped on the penny worth writing about. And so it was this evening, when I picked up a penny

A vote of confidence

Saturday morning, Chicago I was out walking my dog this morning when I had to find a dumpster. The dog had completed his task for the morning, and I had dutifully–an ironic term there, I suppose–picked it up in a plastic bag. Disposing of it in a dumpster was a necessary prerequisite for returning home

It was a good day for omens

Saturday morning, Evanston, Illinois My daughters are both ice skaters, which makes practice ice a reality for me, several times a week. On Saturday morning, as the rest of the world is sleeping in, my older one gets to the rink at 5:30 AM. It seems like a cruel joke to play on the old

Made it through

I wouldn’t relive 1982 for all the money in the world. I was a gangly, awkward kid, and I hated myself for it. But when I happened upon a 1982 penny in a Starbucks this morning, I realized that my memories of years gone by–or at least the ones I have shared in this space–have

The year it all began for me

I’ve done this thing a few times that I call “Pennyfind.” I even have a category for it here. It happens when I come across a penny on a sidewalk or in the street or some unusual place. Being a superstitious sort, I usually pick it up and take a look at the year stamped

Those were the days

Some people are of the opinion that a penny on the sidewalk can only be picked up when it’s facing heads up. I, however, will take them any way I can find them. This morning I found a heads-down penny in a parking lot. I nearly passed it by, but then I stopped, picked it

The watershed year

I was sweeping out the house today, trying to get the last remnants of the holiday season out of the house. As I was bringing a pile of dust and other stuff toward the dustpan, I heard a clink that indicated a coin was inside. I pulled it out and found a penny with the

A year that stood out

On my way home from work today, I filled up the tank of my Prius at a gas station out in the suburbs. The Prius is one way to cope with the gas prices, since a fill-up runs about $25 at the most. With the minivan, it’s usually a lot more than that. A bigger

It was a big year for me

School has been on my mind a lot lately. It’s the last week of the school year for my two daughters, and the structure that has shaped our lives since last fall is about to take a hiatus. A long summer break is in store, and the new posts on this blog will slow to

Once far away, and now long ago

Usually when I find a penny on a street on a sidewalk, it has a dullish brown color and a date many years in the past. When I look at the date, I make a connection to something that feels like a long time ago. I’ve written about such pennyfinds  several times in this space