Every day is a new adventure. Today I was detoured from my original course, but met some very helpful people along the journey.
This morning I headed out early to get some documents copied at the office supply store. One penny found as I walked in. (Coin #1). Good way to begin the week. The first copy machine was not cooperating, so I detoured to another machine.
I was told the cabinet guy would be out to measure for the garage cabinets between 9:30 and 10 a.m. When I arrived at 9:15 a.m. he was sitting out front on the teak bench waiting for me. It was actually kinda fun to see the bench being used. I spent an hour with Ernie to fine-tune the cabinet designs.
Window washing Brian was back today. He continued removal of all the stickers and stucco debris on the exterior of the windows.
Landscape Eddie came to haul off the remaining plastic pots and landscaping debris.
Several people noted the nice mailbox and concrete staining. Yipee!
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This afternoon I left the Penny Palace at 1 p.m. hoping to get much accomplished this afternoon. I headed down the freeway to the Housing Authority office to submit those documents. The freeway was stop and go, so I detoured onto sidestreets.
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I stopped at a Target store to get storage containers and shelves. Found one penny under a potato chip display. (Coin #2).
My purchases were heavy, so service desk Jimmy help me load my truck - almost. I put my key in the door lock and the key broke off! Rats. Serious detour in my plans.
At one time I hid a spare car key under the car. So I was down on hands and needs, then on my back crawling under the truck to find that key box. A very nice gentleman dressed in black pants, a black long-sleeved shirt, and black shoes asked if I needed help. (I thought Angels wore white). He crawled under the truck with me. We did not find that key box.
There was no pay phone in sight and my cell phone had died just prior to this incident. I went back in the store and Jimmy offered to let me use the store phone to call the auto club. I called and explained the situation. Even if their locksmith opened the door, I would not have a key to start the ignition. They put a locksmith on the phone. Good news - he could open the door, create a key, and extract the broken key. All for $185. Yikes. Then he said it would be an hour before he would arrive. That meant I would be standing out in a hot parking lot getting sunburned for an hour? No thanks. Cancel that request.
I could not call Doc since he was in class teaching at that time. Who to call? I called a taxi. It arrived within 5 minutes. It was a 6-7 mile drive home and George, the driver was delightful. I ran inside the house, grabbed the spare key, and we were back on our way to Pippy. I did go back inside Target to thank Jimmy for his wonderful service. I think he appreciated that since most interactions at the Service Desk are not happy ones. I also gave him a Penny Card and 1,000 pennies worth ($10) to celebrate 1,000 Consecutive Penny Finding Days. He smiled. JOY shared.
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My next stop was to drop off a copy of those documents at the realtor’s house. I parked in front of her driveway and noticed a penny imbedded in the asphalt. Good sign.
There was a locksmith kiosk on my way home. I stopped to get a spare key made. I feared to ask the guy how much and how long to extract the broken key from the door lock? Arnoldo said $7! He got out a special little tool and completed the task in under one minute! I only had a $20 bill to pay with and he did not have change, so he said “No fee”. Wow! That’s much cheaper than $185.
It is 9:30 p.m. and Doc has just walked through the door. He tossed a penny, dime and quarter to me saying those were from his McDonald’s stop this afternoon. (Coins #3-5)
Excuse me … it’s now dinner and debrief time.
Total: 5 Coins P (3), N (0), D (1), Q (1) = $0.38
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