Penny proof

This is a picture of MY recently received 2009 proof pennies from the San Francisco Mint. I have been flashing them around like a proud parent. Crazy, huh? I paid substantially more than 4-cents for the 4 pennies, but what was the Penny Lady to do? These babies are awesome; they're the same composition as the 1909 cent at 95% copper, 3% zinc and 2% tin. Besides, these proofs are my proof that four newly designed pennies are being released this year.

My manuscript rewrite is done and almost all my proofers have turned in their edits and comments to me. I am soooo excited about this version and can hardly wait for my agent to get it in front of publishers.

We keep collecting pennies for the Harlem Billion Penny Project, which you can see more about on You Tube (www.youtube.com/billionpennyproject). I am hoping to actually visit the kids there myself in the fall so they will not only count the coins they collect, but also learn how to listen to the pennies.

A life sentence

"I do not look at cancer as a death sentence," Ken told those who gathered at a National Cancer Survivors Day event in Alamosa, Colorado. "I see it as a life sentence."

He explained that as a retired paramedic with a terminal diagnosis of metastasized lung cancer, he feels blessed to have the opportunity to get his affairs in order. During his career, he attended to many accident victims who were either already dead when his ambulance got to the scene, or who died in transit to the hospital. Their opportunity to seek and give forgiveness, resolve conflict, speak important words to loved ones, say goodbye even -- gone. He encouraged us to do these things today, and especially, to live our lives to the fullest...NOW.

Karen, another speaker, survived ovarian cancer and said she no longer puts off pursuing her interests. "If you have a dream, go after it," she said. "Without delay."

I look at the penny propped in the business card holder on my desk in our kitchen. My dream is to tell the story of its journeys in circulation; to link people together across this vast nation over the possibility that this penny has passed through their hands, their lives.

I've just completed another rewrite on my manuscript and have a team of readers reviewing it before resubmitting it to my agent so she can submit it to more publishing houses. We've got about a dozen rejections so far; among them, imprints of HarperCollins, Random House, Simon & Schuster.

But I am not deterred. No doubt my determination has a lot to do with the fact that I survived cancer six years ago. Thanks to Ken, I now see that as the time I was handed a life sentence. Or, perhaps more appropriately in my case, a life CENTence.

Pennies on the lawn

The Penny Project kicked off the summer reading program for Alamosa'a Southern Peaks Library. A crowd made up of 100+ children and their moms and summer teachers gathered on the lawn to listen to some of my 1973 penny's journeys. My own children played the roles of a waiter turned rock star, a theme park princess and a sickly little girl, all of whom have possessed said penny. I held up props, such as a gumball machine, stinky tennis shoe and "used" tissue, to show some of the places the penny has been during its 36 years in circulation.

The children then wrote their own penny journeys which the children's librarian has promised to post on her blog and I will also attempt to do on mine. We also had a penny cleaning station where the children dropped their most dirty pennies into small containers of vinegar and baking soda and waited patiently for the grunge to disappear from the copper facing.

The library has agreed to host a penny fundraiser this summer and contribute all donations to the Storefront Billion Penny Project. An independent grade school in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City is attempting to raise a billion pennies. I learned of their quest online and have since spoken to the teacher who leads the project. Steve Bergen told me that the families of 90% of the students live below the poverty line and this project is teaching them not only what a billion pennies will look like, but also the importance of teamwork, one penny at a time. The money is earmarked not only for their school, but also for at least one other organization who demonstrates a need through the process. The story is a great one and you can read about it on their website (http://www.cstorefront.org/pennies/). Steve and I are brainstorming on ways to connect our rural students with his inner city ones when classes resume in August...oh, the wonderful possibilities that exist all because of pennies!!!