As a teen, I hunted for change in the coin-return slots of vending machines. I nabbed so few coins that the effort-to-reward ratio didn’t justify even the seconds spent jabbing into slots.
But the emotional rewards were grand – a jolt of satisfaction at being richer by a nickel or dime or quarter I hadn’t earned. Not theft, exactly, but … a teensy taste of the Bad Boy Life? Aha!
I felt something like that last week while out for a walk. On a sidewalk I trod often, a couple of blocks from home, I spied a quarter. It lay shiny against the concrete. And it beckoned itself into my pocket.
Aha!
As before, stooping for my unearned reward was hardly worth the effort. My prize was minted in 1984, when 10 cents could purchase what it will buy today, according to an inflation calculator.
Or, worse, today’s kids would need $1.96 to match the buying power of my 25-cent-a-week allowance back in 1968. Ahhh-haaaa?
Yet there came the rush, an “aha!” out of proportion to my find. Bad boy indeed.
Wonderful video, Jeff. Thanks for making the world a better place by posting it.
You’re welcome, Darlene. Thanks for reading our little 30-Second Reads.