Penny Story

Encourage-cent

2010-11-21T19:17:00.000-08:00

I was leaving my friend's office the other day where I had stopped for an "atta girl" that I had desperately needed. It was one of those drizzly, gray, heavy-hearted days, when I saw it. Pressed into the wet, gravelly road, I knew it didn't belong there. I pulled my car over and stepped back out into the chilly rain. Was it really what I thought it was? Waiting here? Just for me? Prying it free with the short tips of my fingernails, I enclosed it in my trembling hand and returned to the warmth of my car. Opening my palm, I held it closer to my eyes. Yes.

As is my habit, I squinted to see the penny's mint date, but this little cent was so battered and scraped, it was impossible to tell. With a scratched-up Lincoln Memorial on its backside, it could have been minted anywhere from 1959 to 2008. Glimmers of shiny copper made me think it was possibly a penny of the 90's. Maybe even newer. Still spendable, I'm sure. But I wouldn't do that. I laid it on my dashboard instead.

How did it get so beat-up? How did it land on this road? How was I able to see it there? I felt a connection to this worldly-worthless penny that had been lost, but then saved. The sky was darkening, the rain got heavier; my windshield wipers worked harder. The penny shifted across the dash, then flew into my lap. My heart lightened. I smiled. Atta girl.
_______________________

It has been more than six months since my last posting and it could possibly be another few before my next. Not because I have given up on writing, telling and listening to penny stories; on the contrary, I have been busily doing all of that, and trying to be more organized in those endeavors. I'm working on a new website, working with more kids who are eagerly learning how to listen to pennies, and working, still, to gain the attention of a publisher who sees the value in all of this...just as I had in my rainy-day penny.

Lost in the sofa

2010-06-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

How else do I explain my absence from my blog page? Like a penny that slips silently from a pocket into the deep swallows of couch cushions, the twists and turns in my life since the last posting have sent me to places I'd never expected to be in 2010. But, that is not necessarily a bad thing. Like that cent in the sofa, I've listened to a lot of interesting conversations, felt some rather odd sensations, and finally arrived at the realization that I've been just where I needed to be...up until now.

A little blonde-headed, hazeled-eyed girl, in search of a missing pink Barbie slipper, approached me with great excitement and showed me--not a tiny plastic shoe--but a tarnished penny that she'd discovered under our sofa cushions. The one question she asked was all it took for me to get back to penny things. "How do you think it got there, Mommy?"

And so, with new vim and vigor, I polished the found cent, set it by my laptop and began to listen for an answer to my daughter's question. I am also now working on updating my internet presence. Please check for future postings on my new blog at http://pennystory.com/.

Penny Chronicles–1938 / first 355 words

2009-12-22T04:52:00.001-08:00

I am going to take a bold step and share a draft of the first page of my second novel here. At all the writing conferences I have attended, there is always a session where editors read the first page of a writer's manuscript and comment as to whether they would want to read further. If you can't grab them on page one, it does not matter how brilliantly written pages 54 and 112 may be! So, as I begin writing about my 1938 penny's journeys, I ask you, would you want to read more?

CHAPTER ONE

July 9, 1943

Glenn kicked the dirt, grunted, and then fell to his knees at the edge of the haystack. He hated his little sister. Well, maybe it wasn't hate. But at times like this he certainly did not like Gwen very much. He scooped up a handful of hay and picked through it. Nope, not here. He chucked it over his shoulder and then thrust his hand deep into the prickly pile.

He held up another fistful of hay and slowly opened his fingers, watching it rain to his knees. A round, brown object plunked his kneecap before hitting the ground. Finally. Glenn snatched it up, but as soon he touched it, he realized it was only a small stone. He tossed it over his shoulder.

"Ow!" came a voice from behind him.

Glenn closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Daddy!" the voice shrieked. "Glenn hit me in the eye!"

Glenn jumped to his feet and turned to face his curly blonde headed sister. "I didn't even know you was there," he said, his eyes burning a hole into Gwen's forehead. "You snuck up on me."

"Did not. You hit me on purpose."

"Ah, go back inside," he said, turning back to the haystack. "I can't be bothered with your whining. Gotta find that stupid thing before it gets dark."

"It ain't stupid. You are."

At this point, Glenn agreed with his sister, though he didn't let her know that. After all, if he'd been smart, he wouldn't be plucking through hay looking for a penny that bore the same date imprint of his sister's birth year: 1938. If he had it all to do over again, instead of actually throwing her coin in the haystack, he'd have only made her think he did. When Gwen tattled to their father, he would've shown it lying on the porch or near the tree swing and then swore his sister had left it there all along. Maybe she would have gotten in trouble this time. But probably not. She rarely got punished and it was especially unlikely to happen on her fifth birthday.

Hooper/Harlem penny pals

2009-12-14T13:53:00.000-08:00

The fun just never ends around here! On Dec. 14, the 4th grade students in Mrs. Jen McQuitty's class in Hooper, CO, and their counterparts in Steve Bergen's computer class in Harlem, NY, shared what books they are reading with each other. Forty kids in all took turns stepping up to webcams in their classrooms with their books and reports in hand. They discovered that they like to read a lot of the same authors, play the same sports and some of them even have first names in common. Harlem's Dylan and Jasmine smiled broadly when they were introduced to Hooper's equally happy Dylan and Jasmine.

Even as their teachers signed-off, the kids' work was not finished. They'll be emailing book reports to each other, along with pictures of themselves. Of course, with me involved, there's a plan in the works to include pennies in their future correspondence. We're calling it Penny Pals. More to come on that.

Where did you see 73?

2009-12-05T04:30:00.000-08:00

Louise saw the 1973 minted penny in her coin purse, so did Kelly; in fact Kelly saw two 73s when she dumped the contents of her wallet on her desk! Darryl found a 73 in a handful of change. A nurse in Alamosa freed three 73s from her husband's coin jar. Some Colorado fifth graders discovered a 73 lurking among the pennies they'd brought in for a school fundraiser. Texas fourth graders didn't know for sure which one of them gave a 73 a ride to school, but there it was in a pile of pennies turned in during my Penny Project presentation at their school in October.

I have seen a 73 in the "leave a penny take a penny" dish at convenient stores and restaurants. I take these 73s and but I always leave another year behind in their place. On an outing with my son to see a friend's musical at Buena Vista High School, I discovered a 73 along the ticket line. I immediately phoned my husband and told him, "You'll never guess what I found!" Of course he didn't have to guess because he already knew. "You found a 73. I can hear it in your voice," he replied.

All these 73s, and still, none of them profess to be the 73 I met years ago. This 73 had dropped into my palm as change in a drive-thru window at a fast food restaurant in East Texas. I'd noticed its mint date and wondered aloud where it had been during its years in circulation. Amazingly, it told me and I wrote what it spoke. But within months of capturing the tales of its journeys in my manuscript, "Penny Chronicles," I misplaced it!

Did I spend it at a store somewhere, toss it in a wishing well, drop it on a sidewalk, donate it to a penny fundraiser, lose it in a washing machine? I don't know. But I've been asking everyone I know everywhere I go: Where did you see 73?

(And for anyone wondering if I have lost my mind: Nope. Just my 73.)

Giving thanks from Hooper to Harlem

2009-11-21T07:54:00.000-08:00

From the New York City skyline to the purple mountains majesty, second grade classrooms in Harlem and Hooper came together on Nov. 16 to work on a Thanksgiving project. With webcams focused on each classroom, the children wrote and drew in unison about things for which they are thankful. Each student then took turns stepping up to the camera to share their papers, even "shaking" hands with one another!

It was great fun watching our Hooper students--who attend a school surrounded by potato fields in a town of less than 150 residents--share this activity with kids who attend a school overshadowed by tall buildings in the borough of America’s most populated city. From two time zones, on opposite sides of the camera, the kids gave thanks for many of the same things, including their moms and dads, cousins and pets. One child shared that she was thankful for her brother, even though he is mean to her. Admittedly, I almost shed a tear when a youngster shared that he was thankful for pennies. I told the kids that it was, in fact, Abraham Lincoln who signed a proclamation declaring Thanksgiving as a national holiday.

KENY-TV reporter Kari reports on the classroom skype at: http://www.kenytv.com/video/sangre-de-cristo-2nd-graders-share-thanks

Setting the captives free

2009-11-12T06:01:00.000-08:00

It looks like the mere emptying of a piggy bank, but let me assure you, it was so much more than that! My family and several friends gathered around our kitchen table as I removed the pink rubber stopper and Bill then released the ceramic bank's contents. The bank was a gift from a member of my writer's critique group, Rhonda Ashurst. She rediscovered it while going through boxes in her garage. Her father had given it to her when she was a little girl after he'd put a heaping handful of his pennies in it. A marking on the underside of the pig shows that it was made in 1973, which is when Rhonda thinks her dad gave it to her. She never added any cents of her own, nor did she ever empty the ones within. Why did she give this treasure to me? It only seemed logical, she told me. Her logic, my luck.

As the pennies spilled out on our table, we each gasped as we read the mint dates: 1927, 1936, 1943 (yes, a steel penny!), 1958 and many years in between. 122 in all, 7 of which were Canadian coins from the 60's and 70's. I can only imagine the conversations all the presidential Lincolns have had with the Queen Elizabeths these three score and six years that they have been locked away together! I'm sure they took turns telling tales of how they ended up in the piggy bank and shared their hopes of the time they would see the light of day again. That day, of course, finally arrived and I'm so glad I got to witness it. (Thanks, Rhonda.)

Local TV reporter covers Harlem Skype

2009-11-09T04:12:00.000-08:00

For some more fun viewing, here's the link to the KENY (Alamosa, Colorado TV station) report on the Harlem penny Skype:
http://www.kenytv.com/video/penny-project

Live (virtually) from New York, it's the Penny Lady!

2009-11-07T08:28:00.000-08:00

I taught my penny poem to PreK-4th graders at the Children's Storefront School in Harlem, NY, on Nov. 6 --via SKYPE-- and it is now posted on Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/user/billionpennyproject#p/u/11/JDC3DFJmpok
If you look close you will see my image on a big white screen at the front of the room.

The school just launched its billion penny project (go to http://www.cstorefront.org/pennies/ to learn more about this). As their special guest during their Friday assembly, I taught the children how to "listen" to the pennies they collect. I informed them that I visited NYC a few summers ago and may have lost my special 1973 penny there. They said they'd keep an eye out for it. To know for sure, all they have to do is recite the penny poem to every 1973 Denver minted penny they find and listen for my name. Of course, the penny may have left by now and could be anywhere in the world, so I guess this is a plea for everyone to be on the lookout for it. But be sure you know the poem or 1973 won't tell you a thing!

Never give up and we will succeed

2009-11-02T11:06:00.000-08:00

I received an email from my son Austin who is spending the year in Costa Rica to learn Spanish as he participates in mission work. His words blurred on my computer screen as tears formed in my eyes. Wow, I miss him. I turned in my chair and bent my head to collect my thoughts and also to pray for him. Opening my eyes again, the pennies I had placed in my loafers this morning caught my attention (so I photographed what I saw and posted it here).

I'd put the two cents there to remind me to continue to work on my as-of-yet-unpublished novel about a 1973 penny's journeys in circulation. I began writing the novel in August of 2007, although I had dreamed about it for a dozen years prior. It has been a long process with writing, researching, proofing, revising, signing with an agent, submitting the manuscript, being rejected, revising again, submitting more, writing more, revising more, etc., etc.

Austin has been watching this process and, today, he noted how it compares to his dream of being fluent in Spanish. He wrote in his email: "It relates to your book progress. Had you known all the things that went into it in the beginning you would have definitely been overwhelmed. But through it all, the desire remains the same...to accomplish. All things take time and today, we continue on."

Nunca te rindas y lo conseguiremos.

Penny Lady in action

2009-10-20T09:17:00.001-07:00

A few days ago, I went on about my "costume." Today, I put on my duds and visited a fabulous group of 4th graders at an equally fabulous Texas elementary school. Notice, if you will, the penny in my loafer, the penny on my earlobe and the pennies on my vest -- oh, yes, and the penny in my palm, which came from the pocket on my vest.

Now I await the stories the children will send to me after I demonstrated how they can "listen" to the pennies I gave them out of my piggy bank!

Dressing the Penny Lady part

2009-10-18T07:39:00.000-07:00

I just bought my first pair of penny loafers in 30 years. (Yippee for the Target sale!) I positioned a shiny penny in each shoe so that Lincoln's eye can peer out--I mean, is visible through--the thin slot. A few weeks ago my 14-year-old daughter Emmali sewed a penny vest for me out of material displaying piles of clip art pennies. She included a pocket where I can carry my special 1973 cent. And then I also have my penny earrings, purchased at the Denver Mint two years ago. A little penny obsessed am I? Possibly. But at least I am still sane enough to don my "pennywear" only during my Penny Project presentations. Outside of those, I favor copper-toned clothing and always carry a penny in my pocket that I can whip out at a moment's notice to share its story. It is doubtful that I will ever develop an affection for other currency; after all, I really do not look good in silver. Same for green. Besides, what would become of my penny loafers?

Penny Project is back in action

2009-09-28T04:24:00.000-07:00

With school now back in session, my penny is rolling through classrooms and landing "tales" side up. Okay, so it is more like I am walking into classrooms with my penny in hand and sharing its tales with wide-eyed students. In the photo posted here, two students are playing the roles of characters in my story -- a theme park princess who gives her special wishing penny to a little girl who has traveled across the country to visit her. By the end of my presentation, the children have learned to engage their own imaginations so that they can each hold a penny to their ears and hear their cents whisper tales of where they have journeyed. Oh, the possibilities!

Find a pony, pick it up

2009-09-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

As I drove up the mountain on Monday morning, I kept thinking Penny would make a good name, or maybe Liberty. Em wouldn't consent to these names with her first pony, but surely, with this second one, she'd relent. After all, my daughter was sure to still be in a state of shock and would not be thinking clearly enough to refuse my suggestions. Then again, I too was in a state of shock. Who wouldn't be upon hearing the news that the pony we'd purchased two months and ten days earlier had just delivered a baby?!

The woman who owns the stable where Brandi lives had phoned us shortly after breakfast to say that when she went to go feed our pony, she discovered the foal laying near Brandi's feet. None of us had known she was pregnant. And she'd never let on to us either! Today she has a son. A beautiful prince. Amazing.

What to name to him? Penny and Liberty certainly won't work for a boy. I suggested Abraham. No. Lincoln? No. "Mom, give it up," Em tells me. "Use those names in your penny stories. I'll take care of the pony name."

I can only shrug my shoulders. But I have not lost hope that she will notice the foal's beautiful coloring and at least consider the name Copper...

When adventure comes knocking

2009-08-31T16:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday morning we put our eighteen-year-old son on a plane to Costa Rica where he plans to do a year of language immersion and mission work. He had purchased a one-way ticket which, to me, seems the best way to approach adventure. On Sunday night however, as I passed by Austin’s vacant bedroom, I began to doubt my philosophy. Then came the knock at our front door.

I went to answer it, walking up on my teenage daughter who had beat me to the task. There in front of us stood two young men sporting helmets. Both of them held onto modes of transportation I had only seen police officers ride through large cities and airports: a two wheel contraption called a Segway upon which the rider stands and maneuvers with the motion of his body.

The man closest to us introduced himself in a thick French accent as being from Belgium. He said their names I’m sure, but all I heard at the time was, “I’m Adventure and this is my friend whose name is also Adventure.”

They needed a place to recharge their Segways and pitch their tent for the night and asked if we could help. Of course, replied my husband who had joined us at the door, though he urged them to leave their tent packed. He led them instead to a building on our property designed specifically for sojourners’ needs, complete with a small kitchen, laundry, shower, restroom facilities and a couple of mattresses.

As we visited with them more, I learned their real names were PJ and Julien. They handed us a business card with the address of their website (www.segwaytravellers.com) detailing the history and purpose of their journey. Getting online, I clicked on the “Our Aim” tab of their webpage and read what PJ had posted their prior to their journey.“Our objective is to cross the United States of America from north to south along the Rocky Mountains chain by Segway…We think it’s too easy to say, ‘This is not for me.’ We would like to prove that with good preparation, it is possible to travel simply without busting your budget and without being an athlete. Adventures are not only for professionals even if their journeys are quite amazing. We think anybody should be able to get up and say: ‘This time, it’s my turn.’”

Anybody. Like my son. Me even.

But what about the small budgets, physical limitations, unreliable weather conditions, not to mention the people? Oh, the people. PJ wrote about them too. “We know perfectly well that we will need help and we will most probably end up knocking on people’s doors or hitchhiking from time to time, who knows what else…Taking on such a challenge could be compared to throwing yourself onto the crowd at a rock concert. You have to trust yourself and others. One thing is sure. We will experience amazing encounters.”

Such could be said of their encounter with a fire department in the Denver area when PJ—who, by the way, is partially paralyzed from a skiing accident three years ago—had fallen off his Segway along a darkened Highway 285. The emergency workers checked that he was okay and then aided the adventurers along their way to a place to stay for the night. Undeterred, they resumed their journey the next day at top speeds of twelve miles per hour, with a reinforced commitment to avoid travel at dark. That is, in fact, how they ended up on our doorstep. Dusk had begun to set in just outside our small town and so Adventure One and Two set foot onto our front porch. And then into our lives.

Listen carefully. Adventure is on the road again. On another Segway perhaps. Or maybe this time, on a bike or in a car. By chance, on foot, just off a plane. No matter how adventure comes however, most certainly it comes knocking.

PJ gave me a Segway driving lesson before he and Julien departed on Monday morning. What an adventure!!! (Oh, and before they left, I gave each of them a 2009 penny and PJ gave me two one cent euros!)

The tale of a grate cent

2009-08-21T07:12:00.000-07:00

Nope, there is not a typo in the title. Bill is holding a one cent euro in the audience of my daughter Grace and our friend Mike. Bill managed to retrieve the cent from under a grate at the bottom of the steps into Schloss Burg (a castle we toured in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.) We had been in Germany nearly two weeks without one sidewalk coin sighting when we spotted this one through the grate, about 8 inches down. My ever clever husband bent the bottom of a sheet of paper and scooped the cent up close enough to pull it through the grate. How ever did it get there in the first place? I can only imagine. And so I did. I think I have a German counterpart who goes around dropping one cent pieces in various locales for other people to find who can then speculate on where said coins have been before sending them along on their journeys. I indeed left a trail of U.S. pennies in Germany -- in train seats, castle windows, the steps to the Grimm brothers' boyhood home, the fountain pictured in my last blog post, the hands of my new German friends, etc. (Last summer, I left pennies all over NYC and Philadelphia.) The one cent euro in Bill's hand is now in a plastic tube on my dresser, a far cry from the German castle, but my castle nonetheless.

A wish in Deutschland

2009-08-13T06:24:00.000-07:00

Here I am on Aug. 8 tossing a 2009 U.S. penny into Fairytale Fountain located in the town center of Steinau, Germany. The fountain was designed only 24 years ago in honor of the bicentennial celebration of Jacob Grimm's birthday. Its column features the castle of Sleeping Beauty on top and there are figures around the column and on the rim of the fountain denoting characters from other Brothers Grimm fairy tales. The building behind me was built in 1589 for people of lower nobility who served on the count's court.

It was an amazing place to be indeed. As for what wish my penny carried to the bottom of the fountain...oh, but I cannot tell or it won't come true, will it? Ha. Of course I do not believe a penny has power to grant wishes, though it is fun to imagine what dreams are attached to pennies in fountains. I do believe that if people have hope in the Creator, their dreams--desires of their hearts--can become reality.

Back home in Colorado now, I have hopes for my penny manuscript finding a publisher; the Penny Project opening the imaginations of hundreds more school children, from the Rockies to Harlem in particular; and continuing friendships with those I met in Germany (all of whom I gave a 2009 penny, emphasizing to them the four words imprinted over Lincoln's head: In God We Trust).

Splash!

Playing ball in Germany

2009-08-02T10:53:00.001-07:00

Meet my Rockies team. They're ten great kids ranging in age from 11 to 20 who allowed me to be their leader during a baseball camp in Aurich, Germany this past week. Half of them had never worn a glove or swung a bat. By the end of our five days together we were all nearly ready for the Pros! (Oh, and we are smiling because we all have pennies in our shoes, not for luck, but as a reminder that it's "In God We Trust" as we felt the coin slip around under our socks all day.)
And here's the family. Each of us was on a different team, except for Grace who was assigned to follow me but ended up following all the teams as she quickly made friends with everyone. The camp is hosted by two local Christian churches, the Aurich YMCA and several US churches. Kids learn a fun game, but they also spend time in Bible studies and worship services. It was an amazing experience!

Penny Prophecies

2009-07-24T06:42:00.000-07:00

We’re on our way to Germany today (July 24) to help teach youth how the body of Christ functions by using the game of baseball as a parallel. Teamwork and a good attitude are, of course, key factors. We have spent the last few days in Maryland with the mission team leader on his farm. He allowed us the experience of emptying a trailer full of straw bales into a loft of his father’s 100 year old barn. Family unity I think he called it. The picture shows the children and me descending down the conveyor after our work is done.

While stacking the bales, I glanced across the barn and saw a small window near the pitch of the roof. I laughed thinking of Glenn, a twelve year old boy who throws his little sister’s 1938 penny out such a window in 1943; it could have happened in this barn had it really ever happened at all. As far as I know it only occurred on the pages of the sequel manuscript to my 1973 penny’s adventures. I imagined this barn on those pages and now here it was.

A few weeks ago, while in an Alamosa grocery store, I watched as a man poured coins into a Coin Star machine and a penny ricocheted off the machine’s basket onto the floor. This I had also previously written about in my manuscript, not sure at the time if such a possibility existed.

My pennies have been swallowed, wedged under pews, stuck in fuse boxes, scorched in fires and used as guitar picks. Possibilities, probabilities and prophecies, all. The same goes for getting the pennies’ chronicles published. Any day now. Surely any day.

A pony in the family

2009-07-05T17:12:00.000-07:00

Meet Brandi. She is Emmali's Haflinger Welch pony. We picked her up on July 4 at a New Mexico ranch. I had suggested the name Penny but no one in the family agreed. Imagine that. Then we came up with Brandi because of a strange brand on the horse's left hip. Emmali chose to give it an "i" ending to match her own unusually spelled name (who named this kid anyway?!).

Isn't she a beauty (the horse and Em)? And such a gift from God (both of them also). Brandi is spending the summer with Em's riding coach, a woman who has trained many a pony in her day. Grace is as excited as her sister to have a pony in the family. No doubt this will be quite an adventure for all of us. Giddy-up!

Penny proof

2009-06-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-11T04:57:00.000-07:00

"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

2009-06-03T15:16:00.000-07:00

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!!!

My little boy graduates

2009-05-25T11:24:00.000-07:00

On May 22, 2009, my son Austin Alexander graduated with honors from Sangre de Cristo High School in Mosca, Colorado. His proud sisters and I posed with him for this picture. During the ceremonies, Austin performed the class song which he wrote called "Let Go." I also wrote an essay for the local paper that was published that day called "Seems like only yesterday." If you've got a moment, copy and paste the following two lines into your web browser to go to the newspaper's posting: http://www.alamosanews.com/V2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=13060&page=74

Listen here

2009-05-06T06:22:00.000-07:00

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!!!

Austin is Prom King

2009-04-29T06:35:00.001-07:00

On April 24, 2009, Austin was crowned King of the Sangre de Cristo Prom. His proud family was on hand, as shown in the picture collage above. The school hosts a Grand March so families can come see all the prom attire, followed by a parent/child dance and then the announcement of prom royalty. The last time I had danced with Austin was at least a dozen years ago when we used to break out in spontaneous hip-hops in our family room. The prom dance with Austin was definitely a crowning moment in my life, so how appropriate that his "coronation" topped off our evening with him.

Trust the Creator

2009-04-22T04:48:00.000-07:00

At approximately 5:35 a.m. today, I captured this image of Venus casting it's light on the moon against a backdrop of the dawning sun over the Rocky Mountains. This beautiful sight is another reminder to me that God is in control and has a far better plan for my life than anything I could ever dream up. No matter how restless I become in my spirit or how weary I feel in my bones when things do not go according to my hopes, God smiles from the heavens and waves His hand across the universe, producing spectacular proof of who He is.

The prophet Isaiah said, "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary." (Is. 40:28)

From the simplicity of finding a penny as Bill and I strolled along a dusty path around our property last evening to the amazement of the night sky fading into morning's light, I am encouraged to keep on keeping on.

Spring snowstorms produce perfect puddles

2009-04-15T06:15:00.000-07:00

Every year our little fellowship celebrates the resurrection of Christ with a sunrise service around a campfire. While it is always chilly in the predawn hours at this time of year, it had yet to also be wet and white. On April 12 of this year, however, we awoke to falling snow. But, alas, the campfire still blazed as we gathered around it. It was an incredible experience to be sure.

Following our time of praise and worship in the snow, we went inside to share breakfast and then we had another worship service in the warm, dry shelter of our chapel. During this time, it snowed six inches!

On Monday, temperatures rose to the mid-fifties and, by the time the kids came home from school, several large puddles had formed on our property. Grace begged to play in them. With her jeans rolled up and snow boots on, she happily galloped through her little bit of paradise on earth.

God in Creation

2009-04-10T06:51:00.000-07:00

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead... (Romans 1:20)

I took this photo from my backyard at approximately 6:30 a.m. MST. It is the sunrise over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, 20 miles east of Hooper, Colorado. But I also see something else here. Stepping back from my screen, I look at the photo again and imagine God standing at the edge of the universe, peering over His mountains, watching.

I am reminded of the psalmist recognizing that God always knows where we are. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. (Psalm 139:7-10)

Long on imagination

2009-04-08T15:44:00.000-07:00

After I finished speaking to his class, one little boy raised his hand, his eyes wide. His smile beamed when I motioned for him to speak. "You sure have a long imagination," he said, shaking his head from side to side as if he had just witnessed something incredible. I laughed and simply told him that my 36-year-old penny has traveled a lot of places, so I had a lot of stories to relay to his class.

This exchange happened at the elementary school in Creede today where I introduced the students to my 1973 penny. I basically told the K-3rd graders the synopsis of "The Penny Chronicles," which is comprised of about 20 years of a penny's journeys. The kids were then encouraged by their teachers to use their own imaginations to write penny stories. One youngster grabbed his journal and a pencil as his class was dismissed for recess, just in case, he told his teacher, his imagination started working on the playground.

When I visited the 4th-6th graders, I shared less of the synopsis so that I would have time to read an excerpt from "The Penny Chronicles" called "The Wishing Penny." It is the story behind a penny in a wishing well -- how it got there, what wish it carried, who made the wish and why it was so important to the wisher that the penny made it to the well. At the end of my reading, the older kids were also encouraged to use their own imaginations to write penny stories.

We'll collect the stories in a week and I am really looking forward to reading them. There is no doubt in my mind that their penny stories will be incredible. After all, since spending time with the students today, I noticed many of them also seem to be blessed with long imaginations.

No packing today

2009-04-01T07:34:00.000-07:00

A thought keeps knocking on the interior of my forehead -- He who has begun a good work in me will complete it. If that sounds familiar it is because I lifted it from Paul's letter to the Philippians, chapter 1, verse 6.

It has been nearly a year since I typed the last letter in the first draft of the manuscript that tells the story of a 1973 penny's journeys in circulation. It has been seven months since I signed with a literary agent to represent a much-edited version of that manuscript. It has been two weeks since she reported to me yet another publisher's rejection, along with a new publisher's interest in reviewing the manuscript.

In the twilight hours of March 30, 2009, after I saved my rewrites of the first ten pages of a 1938 penny's adventures, I leaned back in my black fake leather, swivel office chair and sighed. Glancing to the shelf where I keep the binder with all the penny stories I have written thus far, I felt tempted to go after a cardboard box and pack the binder away, along with all my penny research and manuscript critiques. I would seal the cardboard flaps with duct tape, scribble "Penny Stuff" with a Sharpie across the sides and top, then lug my box of dreams to the attic.

I told Bill this and he asked me why I even began writing penny stories in the first place. Because, I told him instantly, I want to inspire the imaginations of other people; to have them consider the stories they hold in their hands when counting change, particularly pennies, just as I have. More importantly, I believe I am inspired by God to write these chronicles--to take the least valuable of all coins and share the rich life experiences of the people who hold them through the years.

Okay, so I won't pack the box today. Instead, I will "listen" to my 1938 cent tell me how a young boy depended on it for luck when he was being bullied by a neighbor in West Virginia in 1943. I will listen and then I will transcribe this penny's tales leading up to the time it met my 1973 penny at a bank in Missouri (recorded in chapter one of the first manuscript).

Knock, knock, knock. There is work to complete.

We did hard things

2009-03-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

Just got back from Dallas where we attended the Christian Book Expo (CBE) on Friday and Saturday. Only 1500 of the expected 15,000 attendees attended it. The cost to get in appeared to be the biggest factor in keeping the anticipated crowds away. Apparently the event organizers did not anticipate that the $20+ ticket price per day would be such a turn-off in this economy.

My sister and I paid $48 to have two-day access to 200+ Christian authors and publishers. We were glad there were no long lines to stand in to meet Max Lucado, Lee Strobel, Susan Meissner and other top selling Christian authors. But then, as an author myself, I couldn't help but feel the disappointment for such a low turnout.Here's my kids (the blondes) with my niece (tie-dye) flanked by authors Brett and Alex Harris.

My kids -- who all got in free -- were glad to meet the teenage authors of "Do Hard Things," Alex and Brett Harris. And believe me, it was a hard thing to spend our hard earned pennies to travel 700 miles (one way), pay to park, pay for two adults to get in the door, and witness the tragedy of God-loving authors idly drumming their fingers on stacks of unsold books...even though we did our part to buy what we could. But we did the show. And now we're home. And we are no worse for the wear.

If only it could talk...

2009-03-16T16:19:00.000-07:00

Bill found a 1892 penny in the sand today. (I scanned it and enlarged the image for better viewing.) Most of our town is sand -- Hooper is located in one of the highest agricultural deserts in the world. At about 7700 feet, our desert town is located between two mountain ranges, about 20 miles west of the Great Sand Dunes National Park.

This penny may have been dropped by one of Hooper's early settlers, perhaps as this person recently got off the train that once ran nearby. Or perhaps a young lad, tired of gathering wood for his family's stove, sat on a stump to rest, only to have this penny slip unwittingly from his pocket. Or maybe it fell from the grasp of a teenage girl as she played tag with the neighborhood boys. Hmmm.

It is corroded. At least in appearance. Within its remaining copper being, however, I believe it has a voice -- just waiting for someone to listen to the tales of its journeys. Lucky for it, I am that someone.

What now?

2009-03-11T10:14:00.000-07:00

The school held the closing assembly on March 5. Here's me reminding the kids of the power of pennies, with 24 bags of pennies beside me (that's $1,200!!!).

I have spent the past two and half months with the penny project at our school. I am referred to schoolwide now as "the Penny Lady" or, lately, as "Miss Penny." Besides hosting pizza parties for the classes who raised the most money, we're all done with the project. The kids raised $1,227.26, which includes $7 from a Colorado Springs couple who read about it in The Denver Post, and just over $60 from Mint employees who just wanted to help out with our cause. Amazing! I visited the 4th graders today to read a chapter of my penny manuscript. We talked about character development, showing and not telling the story and if they would want to read more. (Yes to that last one! Are you listening Mr./Mrs./Ms. Publisher?!)

What now? Two other school districts in the area have expressed an interest in having me do the story portion of the penny project at their schools after their spring breaks. I'm looking at some revisions to the manuscript to perhaps appeal to more editors...such as moving chapter 10 to chapter 1 and pushing the back story back a few chapters. Hmm. And I am preparing for a trip to Dallas to attend the Christian Book Expo and mingle with authors and editors. Of course, my 1973 penny will travel with me.

Penny project is wildly successful

2009-02-28T13:54:00.000-08:00

Here I am lifting one of the $50 bags of pennies that the elementary students have filled since Feb. 2. I did this during the assembly that featured reps from the Denver Mint, as noted by the screen behind me.
It looks like our 170+ kids will have brought in well over $1,000 when the final tally is taken. This is phenomenal when you consider this is a rural school district with a high rate of poverty. This dollar amount represents 100,000 pennies! This is proof -- to me, at least -- of the power of the penny! We'll announce which grade brought in the most pennies on March 5 and they'll get a pizza party. All the kids will get an ice cream party. And none of it will cost us a cent since local businesses have made donations. Penny power! Penny power! Penny power!

I mentioned our fundraiser and our story contest in a guest commentary I did for The Denver Post on Feb. 12. You can read that at http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_11682251.

Log cabins held captive

2009-02-26T05:13:00.000-08:00

My family toured the Denver Mint on Feb. 12 and got our just released log cabin pennies. This picture shows us pretending to lift a bag--if it were full of pennies it would hold $7,500 worth and weigh 3,000 pounds!

Those log cabin pennies that were "released" from the US Mint on Feb. 12 may not see the light of day for another 3 to 4 months. With the exception of the ones distributed in Kentucky during the national celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birthday and the few handed out to Mint tourists in Denver and Philadelphia, the rest remain stored in vaults at the Mint and Federal Reserve. According to the Denver Mint Public Affairs Office, there are still millions of dollars in Memorial pennies that need to be put into circulation first. They hadn't expected such a backlog. One of the specialists expressed frustration that the banks are not ordering more pennies these days and suggested that perhaps if they knew about the new pennies, they would be taking care of that backlog.

If they knew. I spoke to a local bank teller as she counted pennies for our school's fundraiser two days ago. Even though we had told her a week ago about the new pennies, she still insisted that they were only available through special order and are not meant to ever enter regular circulation. I could not convince her otherwise.

Regardless, we have our log cabin pennies, as do about 200 students and staff at our school -- a gift from the Denver Mint during our penny fundraiser, not to spend, but to save. They told us on Wednesday how lucky we are to be in possession of these pennies, that we are among the few worldwide to have them. Lucky? Of course. What else would one expect of a penny?

It's time you know

2009-02-16T08:46:00.000-08:00

I stand amazed. Not in awe, but in a stupor. The release of the new 2009 penny has not made headlines. Bank presidents, news reporters, coin collectors all--raise their eyebrows, cock their heads and ask, "There's a new penny being released?"

The reverse side Lincoln Memorial penny is no longer being produced. On Feb. 12 of this year a new reverse side penny was put into circulation. Instead of an imprint of an elaborate marbled monument there is now a rustic log cabin, the place of Abraham Lincoln's birth 200 years ago. And every three months this year, more new penny designs that reflect Lincoln's life will be released. Who knew? I did, for one. The U.S. Mint folks did too, obviously. As well as our U.S. Congress who approved this change a while back.

Now, you know too.

Time for change

2009-01-06T13:26:00.000-08:00

I paid 95-cents for a 94-cent french vanilla coffee at a convenient store today (Jan. 6, 2009) and the cashier asked me if I wanted my penny change back. Gasp! Of course, I did, and not only that, I wanted to check out the year imprinted under Lincoln's chin. A 2006. Only three years out in circulation, but still so many possibilities as to where it may have traveled before landing in my palm. Hence, the reason for this blog.

I have an insatiable curiosity concerning the journeys of pennies. It all began with a 1973 penny given in change to me in a drive-thru restaurant somewhere between Dallas and Texarkana in 1996. I asked my kids to make-up stories as to where they think that particular cent may have been before joining our roadtrip. I thought then that we should write a book about its journeys. But, alas, it remained only in idea form. Then in the summer of 2007, a month after my mother left this world for good, her own book idea buried with her, I decided not to risk that happening to me.

That summer I began writing about the journeys of a 1973 Denver minted penny. As the manuscript took form, I shared it with friends and family who were all too eager to tell me their own penny tales. Some made it into 1973's story -- the names changed to protect the guilty. That first novel is done and awaiting the notice of a publisher. In the meantime, I keep writing the journeys of other pennies. I have reached the point of being able to hold a penny to my ear and actually hear it tell me its adventures in circulation. Really. (Imagination is a wonderful thing indeed!)

Additionally, I would very much like to hear the stories of people about their own penny adventures -- strange places they have found pennies, how a penny changed their luck, bought them someone else's thoughts, fell from heaven just when they needed some celestial encouragement, etc. Please post your penny tales here -- maybe they will make it to print someday along with 1973's story....