Day #291 - Escaping

It seemed like today was going to be a repeat performance of yesterday:

Doc insisted upon his Starbucks stop on the way to school. I was not keen on the idea of being delayed. Doc agreed to toss me out of the van at the grocery store saying “Go Fetch!”. I was to Penny Find while he went to Coffee Find.

I walked through the grocery store, but no Found Zero Coins. Doc still had not arrived, so I walked around In-N-Out. I consciously thought, “I will walk over the embedded penny in the driveway just to check on it. But I’m not going to be fooled by it today.” Sure enough, it was there. But wait! That looked almost like it was NOT embedded. I kicked it. It moved! The embedded one was 2 ft. away. I found a second penny in the washed down area. (Coins #1&2) Same lesson as yesterday.

Lesson: Carefully note your pre-established biases. They may not be valid.

That is a lesson repeated over and over. I need to “escape” my routine way of thinking.

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Meanwhile Doc found his own coin. When entering Starbucks he searched for coins. Nothing. Then when he was doctoring his coffee, both cream pitchers were empty and he “did a good deed” in getting them refilled. Found a dime by one of the tables while waiting for the refills. Mushroom coin? (Coin #3)

So far this was almost a duplicate of yesterday.

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After a meeting at work today, I passed by the vending machines and picked up a penny. When I returned to my office I was trying to find a secure place where I would remember it when going home tonight. I was placing it in my lunch pail and noticed it had a Starfish on it! This was no Lincoln Penny. It was a 1¢ coin from the Bahamas! (Coin #4) The Angels were sending me a mini-vacation. Escape for a few moments (while looking up Bahamian coins on line).

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Doc gave his usual break to his lecture class and visited the coffee vending machine. He was teaching his class with white board pen in one hand and coffee cup in the other. The coffee cup failed and he had coffee on his shirt and a puddle on the floor. When wiping the floor he discovered the dime he had evidently been walking over for the past several hours. (Coin #5)

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On the way home I needed to stop at the discount store for some stickers for work. The first store had nothing of what I needed and no coins. L We were headed home, but passing the Dollar Tree Store. Doc unexpectedly pulled in. I told him, “Look only for stickers -- no coins! I am very tired tonight. We have five coins already today and that is plenty. Do you understand those instructions? If not, you can stay in the van!” I hopped out of the van to find a nickel. (Coin #6). Doc had not even opened his door yet. So much for NOT finding coins.

At that point I realized it wasn’t Doc I needed to talk to. So … “Penny Angels we have enough coins today. Thank You. You can save them for another day, OK? I want to go home and eat dinner. Please no more today!” As Doc got out of the van, I picked up a dime where I was standing (Coin #7) and had just directed the Penny Angles to take a break! As I was recording that find, there was another dime (Coin #8). This was getting frustrating! Who’s in Charge here? “Penny Angels did you not hear me?” Doc was laughing. “Sure they heard you! And they are saying ‘So What!’ They are showing you who’s in charge!”

Doc needed to use a restroom, so he walked over to the CVS Store. He spotted a shiny penny on the carpet when he walked in. Then another penny on a shelf by the checkout. (Coins #9&10) He didn’t find a restroom there, so went to Starbucks to get another coffee and use their restroom. Plus he got another penny. (Coin #11)

I was “on hold” outside the store trying NOT to look for coins. There was a shiny penny under one of the benches. (Coin #12). Then another penny under one of the outdoor dining tables. Then as I was recording that find, there was a penny in a concrete crack. (Coins #13&14). There seemed to be no escape from the Penny Angels tonight.

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We still did not have the stickers I was seeking. I was asking the Angels for “stickers” not more coins!

Again we were headed home, and again Doc detoured. This time to the 99¢ Only Store. PLEASE, no more coins! There were no stickers, but one penny. (Coin #15) As we walked back to the van there was a penny. (Coin #16) But we had walked that path when going into the store. We paused to pick up the coin and noticed Campbells Chicken Soup cans in the window. Dinner!!! It was 8:57 so we had 3 minutes to run in the store and get dinner. As Doc ran past a tall stack of boxes he pointed - could that be a coin of some sort? Yes, a dime! (Coin #17) No Escape!

Today’s Total: 17 Coins P (10), N (1), D(5) + Bahaman Penny = 66¢