Listen here

In case there is any doubt that I am penny-crazed, I have here my writing "buddies." These are the guys as they appear when I lean them against my computer screen, from youngest to oldest: 2009, 1973, 1943, 1938 and 1892. Once they are in place, I sit poised with my fingers over the keyboard and say, "Okay, speak to me, guys." My imagination shifts into gear and I listen as, one at a time, they tell me where they have journeyed.

Of course, 2009 has little to say--after all, it was handed to me at the Denver Mint on Feb. 12 and then placed in a special sleeve in my wallet. 2009 comes out when I show it to people and when I write on my penny manuscript. This will likely be the sum total of its adventures for a good while.

1973 speaks most often -- though this particular one only came into my possession a week ago. I have a small collection of 1973 Denver minted pennies who take turns sitting over my keyboard. The one pictured here came to me from a sidewalk outside Buena Vista High School. I'd gone to see a play there with my son Austin and noticed it laying in our path, tales side up. I retrieved it with great excitement and turned it in my hands to see its mint date. One can only imagine the elation I felt when I discovered it to be a 1973D!!! The strangers in line around us most assuredly thought I was a lunatic. Austin, though, understood and gave them a knowing smile and nod.

1943 is next in line. It is a steel penny and came to me in February of this year when the bank teller pulled it from the side of the magnetic coin counting machine. I have not heard its tales yet because in my current manuscript, it has not yet met 1938.

I came upon 1938 a year ago as my family searched through $10 worth of pennies from the bank for more 1973s that I could take with me to a writer's conference. 1938 was the only wheat-backed penny in the bunch! Due to the fact that this is also my late mother's birth year, I took it as a "sign" that it would be a significant character in my penny manuscript.

And last, but certainly not least, is 1892. It was discovered by Bill in the sandy terrain of Hooper in February. While it is probably as anxious to tell me how it got there as I am to listen, it must wait until I have time to give it the attention it deserves. So, when it starts to "talk," I beg of it to keep silent. I must finish the tale of 1938 and how it ends up with 1973 in a bank teller's drawer.

And that is simply the way it is. But, oh, if only 1892 and 2009 could tell me what they've been talking about!!!