Pennies For Your Thoughts

When I was a kid, we used to put pennies and nickels on the train tracks and then let a train run over our money. Sometimes, however, we weren't able to find our coins. I imagine that we were not alone in losing smashed change. I have to assume that over the years, hobos have found pounds of useless squashed coins and have shaken their heads at the money being wasted.

We have a lot to learn from the hobo.

Mainly, money shouldn't be smashed by trains--it should be spent. You will never see a hobo place money on a rail in order to be smashed. A hobo would receive no joy from it. Certainly not in the way that we as kids did.

Besides the obvious waste of money, there is also the safety concern. One time we had put some pennies on the track, and as the train went by, a penny was sent flying right by my head. I could have been seriously injured and all because of a lousy desire to see a smashed penny. Why are we instilled with a desire to destroy money?

As an aside, I had a roommate who sold Cutco knives. One of the demonstrations was that you could cut pennies with the scissors because the scissors were so sharp. Cutting pennies! Can you believe that? The hobo gently weeps.

Anyway, I think one of the more admirable qualities of the hobo is their penny-pinching, especially when you contrast that against our penny-smashing, squashing and cutting.

Imagine the amount of smokes that could have been paid for by lost coins of a smashing youth. It's enough to hurt your heart.

I guess I only bring this up because I have now been smash-free for over 20 years. It has not come easy. I have 9 pennies in my left pocket right now and all I want to do is run down to the tracks and start laying them down. But then I go back to a very valuable thought process...What would a hobo do?

That thought process hasn't let me down yet. (Of course, I don't ask the question very often, and never when it comes to transportation, confrontations, stabbing, wardrobe, life, marriage...you know, to be honest, I only really ask it with regards to money or food.)