10 cents...

I have never wanted 10 cents more in my life than today.

Today has been a fabulous days. Seriously.

Great nights sleep. Great 10 + hours of work. Ride home to an overcast sky and a chat with the parentals. And a quick change into the walk attire. Then...

So I went on this walk. At first it was mostly for cross-training, but then I found the exercise was more for my mind than my legs. God bless those poor limbs.

Picture this: I'm trekking mildly fast up the last street of the evening. I see a boy (let's call him Skippy), say 6 or 7, barefoot and calling across the street to some hardly interested scooter and bike riding 8 or 9 year old's. Possibly perceived as cooler than the younger lad. Skippy eventually took his attention off of the other boys and skips back and forth a couple of times, THEN starts skipping to me. The conversation proceeds as follows:

Skippy: "Hi."
Me: "Hi."
Skippy: "Do you have 10 cents?"
Me: ooo. I'm thinking that would be hard to find. (Searching my pockets.)
Skippy: "Oh, because if you had 10 cents or even a dollar I can sing you a song."
(I look at the boy. I wait patiently for him to say "ha, just kidding." Skippy keeps slowly skipping beside of me and starts to look a little sad.)
Me: I'm sorry, but I don't have anything for you. But I can listen. (Lame response to sad Skippy.)
Skippy: Sorry. I can't sing for you for less than 10 cents.
Me: Oh, sad. (Sounding in unbelief. Because I was.) I really don't have 10 cents. (Frantically searching all corners of my pocket at this point. Straight empty.)
Skippy: Never mind, and my songs are my own songs and no one else has them.
(Totally dissed at this point, my jaw drops and I walk off. Skippy skips the other direction towards the now slightly interested boys.)

As soon as a walk off I hear Skippy talking with the scooter and bike boys:
Scooter Boy: "We really don't have 10 cents."
Skippy: "Are you serious? You mean you don't get allowance?!"


Now, I'm not sure of all that happens within the next 20 yards that I slowly make my way home, but the last I could hear - Skippy was singing. That made me happy and quite convinced Skippy's boldness is stellar.

I just remember thinking over and over. "Really? That just happened?"

It did. And, lesson learned. Always carry 10 cents.