Presidential Sculpture Swapping

I decided to write something different for a change. Actually, it's about change: swapping presidential sculptures

I stopped by our retail store in the middle of several errands. The clerk mentioned that she was close to running out of pennies. So I told her I would get some at the bank.

But several minutes later after I had paid for my coffee at the convenience store AND after I had been to the bank I saw the "penny exchange bucket" by the cash register. It jogged my memory about the penny request from my clerk. There were exactly five pennies in the little bucket, and I had a nickel in my hand, so I swapped them. I thought, "five pennies are better than none".

Suddenly the tall C-store clerk sternly demanded to know what I was doing. I told her I had swapped the pennies for a nickel, and I pointed to the single coin in the bucket. She exclaimed, "those pennies are for our customers!"

I thought it was incredulous that someone, a grown adult especially, would be so concerned over something that people in our society THROW AWAY on a regular basis. And I had exchanged them for exact value, I hadn't stole anything. I simply said a single statement, "sorry" - AND - left with my pennies.

After leaving the C-store I suddenly realized on my walk back to my truck that technically the pennies really aren't the property of the C-store, they are a simple exchange mechanism performed by the masses of customers on a good will basis. Those pennies are actually owned by no one!

After I drove a couple blocks, and only after I had taken at least two drinks of the coffee, I suddenly cracked up laughing while looking at the cup of coffee in my hand that I had PURCHASED at the C-store - realizing I was one of the "OUR" cUstOmeRs !