tiltjlp
PN co-founder
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2003
- Messages
- 3,403
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- Favorite Pinball Machine
- Flying Trapeze 1934
There has been discussion during recent years of doing away with the one cent coin, the penny. Those in favor say that the copper has outlived it’s usefulness, that it has no practical value. I oppose retiring this noble coin to the monetary hall of fame, and I come armed with convincing arguments, and with a nostalgic lilt to my lonely voice, for it does have an intrinsic value.
Think of all the familiar and obscure sayings that will no longer have a point of reference. A Penny For Your Thoughts. You might joke that you were paying too high a price for a collected empty-headed nonsense, but the opposite is true. If you have the time and foresight to heed the words of others, you can harvest many a pearl of wisdom. Who hasn’t enjoyed the pleasure of sitting and listening while a four year-old recounts the adventure of living and experiencing life’s mysteries for the very first time? Think of the joy in a child’s gleeful giggle.
Your Two Cents Worth. Talk about something that usually is over- priced. When most of us offer our two cents worth, more often we are presenting arguments against someone else’s opinion or course of action. And much of the time our position is grounded on less than solid footing. How often has someone’s enthusiasm for life been dashed by discouraging words whose origin is jealousy, envy, or spite? Why do so many of us have trouble allowing someone to bask in the sunlight, enjoying their moment of fame? Why do we insist on raining on everyone’s parade?
Ponder for a moment all the wonderful little things in our lives that would lose their meaning. None of those marvelous mechanical banks from the 19th and 20th centuries would work, since one red cent triggered their amusing antics. If pennies are really from heaven, should we fool around with that? I sure don’t want to tempt fate. And what would housewives and grandmothers find in the bottom of their purses?
And think of all the empty-handed toddlers we would end up with. A toddler without a shiny penny in his or her hand or pocket will lose one of the all time cheap thrills. Sure, they may not know it won’t buy them anything, but isn’t that part of the magic? A little child is perfectly happy running nowhere, clinching that worthless copper-colored circle of metal. It’s all their’s, and no one will get upset if and when they lose it along the way. A lot to ask of a lowly little penny, isn’t it?
What has been suggested, should the noble penny is allowed to expire; rounding off odd-cent purchases to the nearest nickel. Just how long do you think it would take before everything is pushed upward to the next nickel. Would you really waste your precious time arguing over pennies? I for one don’t feel like enriching corporate America any more than I already do.
The most important reason for not forsaking the penny has to do with the human spirit. All except the most wealthy of Americans has a penny jar, and for a goodly number of us, pennies are all we can afford to save. Anyway, what would we call penny candy if not penny candy. Sure, it sells for $1.99 for eight pieces, but it’s charm would end if we called it dollar candy.
Are we simply to forget the historical importance of our one cent coin? As if there never had been penny post cards, and what will become of penny loafers? Would the Fab Four’s ditty, Penny Lane ring true if it were renamed Silver Dollar Circle. Theater goers would lose their Three Penny Opera. I’ll wager that one of those Three Coins In A Fountain was a penny.
In the days prior to circuit breakers, a penny kept many a weak fuse going just a little longer. And what of the post office and their one cent make-up stamp, would they simply start raising the price of first class mail a nickel at a time, adding more fuel to inflation? More power to the penny!
A sacred rite of passage for grade school males has always been pitching pennies. Are we to deny school teachers that tool of learning, the lecture on the evils of gambling? And who didn’t use a penny, taped to it’s nose, to make a 50's era toy glider fly just so? I wonder if those ten-cent gliders are still made and sold today, allowing youngsters flights of fancy. Are we to simply turn our backs on the glorious one-cent coin, after it has been such a big part of our lives?
And if you are at least of baby boomer age, the words, ”a penny’s worth”, will conger up some pleasant memories. Surely you recall standing in front of a glass-fronted candy case, trying to decide which items would best satisfy your sweet tooth. And just a few cents worth of the right candy could fuel your sweet tooth nearly all day. Memories such as these are truly priceless, and worth preserving.
Think of all the familiar and obscure sayings that will no longer have a point of reference. A Penny For Your Thoughts. You might joke that you were paying too high a price for a collected empty-headed nonsense, but the opposite is true. If you have the time and foresight to heed the words of others, you can harvest many a pearl of wisdom. Who hasn’t enjoyed the pleasure of sitting and listening while a four year-old recounts the adventure of living and experiencing life’s mysteries for the very first time? Think of the joy in a child’s gleeful giggle.
Your Two Cents Worth. Talk about something that usually is over- priced. When most of us offer our two cents worth, more often we are presenting arguments against someone else’s opinion or course of action. And much of the time our position is grounded on less than solid footing. How often has someone’s enthusiasm for life been dashed by discouraging words whose origin is jealousy, envy, or spite? Why do so many of us have trouble allowing someone to bask in the sunlight, enjoying their moment of fame? Why do we insist on raining on everyone’s parade?
Ponder for a moment all the wonderful little things in our lives that would lose their meaning. None of those marvelous mechanical banks from the 19th and 20th centuries would work, since one red cent triggered their amusing antics. If pennies are really from heaven, should we fool around with that? I sure don’t want to tempt fate. And what would housewives and grandmothers find in the bottom of their purses?
And think of all the empty-handed toddlers we would end up with. A toddler without a shiny penny in his or her hand or pocket will lose one of the all time cheap thrills. Sure, they may not know it won’t buy them anything, but isn’t that part of the magic? A little child is perfectly happy running nowhere, clinching that worthless copper-colored circle of metal. It’s all their’s, and no one will get upset if and when they lose it along the way. A lot to ask of a lowly little penny, isn’t it?
What has been suggested, should the noble penny is allowed to expire; rounding off odd-cent purchases to the nearest nickel. Just how long do you think it would take before everything is pushed upward to the next nickel. Would you really waste your precious time arguing over pennies? I for one don’t feel like enriching corporate America any more than I already do.
The most important reason for not forsaking the penny has to do with the human spirit. All except the most wealthy of Americans has a penny jar, and for a goodly number of us, pennies are all we can afford to save. Anyway, what would we call penny candy if not penny candy. Sure, it sells for $1.99 for eight pieces, but it’s charm would end if we called it dollar candy.
Are we simply to forget the historical importance of our one cent coin? As if there never had been penny post cards, and what will become of penny loafers? Would the Fab Four’s ditty, Penny Lane ring true if it were renamed Silver Dollar Circle. Theater goers would lose their Three Penny Opera. I’ll wager that one of those Three Coins In A Fountain was a penny.
In the days prior to circuit breakers, a penny kept many a weak fuse going just a little longer. And what of the post office and their one cent make-up stamp, would they simply start raising the price of first class mail a nickel at a time, adding more fuel to inflation? More power to the penny!
A sacred rite of passage for grade school males has always been pitching pennies. Are we to deny school teachers that tool of learning, the lecture on the evils of gambling? And who didn’t use a penny, taped to it’s nose, to make a 50's era toy glider fly just so? I wonder if those ten-cent gliders are still made and sold today, allowing youngsters flights of fancy. Are we to simply turn our backs on the glorious one-cent coin, after it has been such a big part of our lives?
And if you are at least of baby boomer age, the words, ”a penny’s worth”, will conger up some pleasant memories. Surely you recall standing in front of a glass-fronted candy case, trying to decide which items would best satisfy your sweet tooth. And just a few cents worth of the right candy could fuel your sweet tooth nearly all day. Memories such as these are truly priceless, and worth preserving.
(Fill your mug as you choose.)
