When It Rains PENNIES From Heaven, It Pours!

Wouldn't you know it? After posting her sad, sad tale of being knocked CENTSless by Even Steven last week... Val drove to town at 4:00 SATURDAY, Dec. 29th, after spending all day in the kitchen preparing the Dec. 30 Christmas Dinner, and found A PENNY!

Of course it was too late to stop the presses and update her Saturday CENTSus. So this penny will be shown here, but tallied for the end of 2018.

There lay Old Abe, by T-Hoe's back tire, on the parking lot of The Gas Station Chicken Store.

He was face-up, a 2013 model, way over by the moat that separates the parking lot from Hick's pharmacy, CeilingReds.
_____________________________________________________________________

Are you ready for this week's wild ride? This is not for those with a heart condition, nor pregnant women, nor any shrimps not tall enough to reach a keyboard. If you are on oxygen, increase the flow or the percentage or however that works. Lay in some snacks and beverages. Can't be crashing your blood sugar, or growing dehydrated. There. Comfy enough? Let's begin.

On SUNDAY, Dec. 30th, after our feast, and after Genius's departure, I went to town for my 44 oz Diet Coke.

I parked over by the door this time, that being my preferred space at The Gas Station Chicken Store. Of course I looked down as I slid past the running board while disembarking from T-Hoe. Gotta be sure-footed. And I nearly trod right upon another Abe. If he'd been a dirt-dwelling snake, he coulda bit me on the shoe sole!

Based on blindly striking, due to the vibration. Because this Old Abe was face down. A 1968. He looks like he could have been lying there all that time, but I don't think the dirt was that old.
_________________________________________________________________

No pennies threw themselves at me to ring out the old year. But on TUESDAY, January 1st, the very first stop bestowed a penny upon Val.

It was under the gum at Casey's. A 2017 face-up specimen, worthy of harvesting for the New Year!

Looks like 2019 is off to a good start for Val's Future Pennyillionaire Fortune!
___________________________________________________________________

Fortune was surely smiling upon Val during her trip to take The Pony halfway back to college. On WEDNESDAY, January 2nd, we stopped in Joplin for The Pony's favorite lunch, a garlic burger at Steak N Shake. He pulled his Rogue into the parking spot. Then backed up, then wondered if he went back too far. Hick came over to meet us, and said it was fine. As I got out of The Pony's car and started toward the door, I saw it!

Hick was milling around, and twice tried to dash in and scoop up MY rightful penny. I had to tell him to back off, until the photo opportunity was over. If The Pony had parked as he originally pulled in, I would not have seen my penny, since he would have parked on top of it.

This face-down Lincoln was a 2015. I took it as a good omen for our trip. Hick kind of pooh-poohed my excitement at finding a penny. But then, he's a big old pooh-pooh head.

You're not gonna believe what I found when we took our stuff up to our free hotel room!
Uh huh.

Hick said, "Huh. I guess you or The Pony must have dropped a penny." AS IF! The Pony was in the bathroom, and hadn't even walked past that area. And I, well, we all know that VAL is in the business of PICKING UP pennies, not casting them about all willy-nilly like Johnny Appleseed sowing his wild fruit.

It was a face-down 2013 cent, left there just for ME, probably dropped by a maid receiving a bad tip. Not that there was anything wrong with the room, but who leaves PENNIES as a tip, anyway?

After an entertaining evening of casino-hopping, we once again came back to our hotel casino, where Hick called it a night before 11:00, and The Pony left me so he could get some shut-eye before continuing his trip solo the next morning. I got up from my last slot, turned to push in my chair, and saw a glint under the stool next to me!

No, you silly geese! It was NOT a penny! It was a QUARTER!

Face-up, one of those state versions, Georgia, 1999. Let the record show that you can't gamble with coins in a casino any more. They all have coinless slots, which accept bills or cash-out tickets.
__________________________________________________________________

Don't be thinking that's ALL! Because once home, on THURSDAY, January 3rd, the very next day, I headed back to The Gas Station Chicken Store for my 44 oz Diet Coke, and found a penny at the chicken counter while I was waiting to pay!

Of course it was waiting there for ME, knowing I'd be stopping by for my magical elixir.

This face-down 1988 Abe Lincoln was quickly photographed and pocketed. From there, I headed to Country Mart for their ticket machine, since NEW SCRATCHERS had the audacity to come out on Tuesday, while Val was in Oklahoma.

Yep! That's a NICKEL, by cracky, waiting for me at the door! I guess the penny from The Gas Station Chicken Store tipped him off that I'd be headed that way.

It was one of the scary Thomas Jeffersons, face-up, a 2015. Maybe he was needing to find a boot to sit on to take a crap...
___________________________________________________________________

Are ya still holdin' up? Take a deep breath. Maybe take a respite from penny-viewing to visit one of those trendy oxygen bars. Here we go.

On FRIDAY, January 4th, I spied a penny on my way inside Orb K to get Genius the first of his weekly two scratchers.

The side I could see was face down.

It was a leaning 2013 Abe on crack, heh, heh.

But that's not all! I parked next to the handicap space at Save A Lot, which was occupied by a red pickup truck. When I came out, that truck was gone, and I saw A PENNY waiting just for ME!

I had already started loading my purchases into T-Hoe's rear when I spotted it.

Again, Old Abe was face-down. A 2015 this time.

But wait again! That's still not all! After a trip to Country Mart for Hick's special swirly ice cream cups, I made my last stop at The Gas Station Chicken Store. A frozen food truck was over by the moat, in my usual parking space. And a black sedan was sticking out in front of my favorite spot closest to the door. So I parked way up at the most remote spot, and FOUND A PENNY after rounding T-Hoe's rear!

Yep! I would have totally missed that also-face-down 1997 Lincoln if I had parked anywhere else.

Whew! You think YOU'RE tired from READING about pennies? Please play the world's smallest violin for Val, who is exhausted from taking their pictures and fitting them into her Saturday CENTSus.

That was 10 coins this week, because the first penny was found on Saturday, Dec. 29th, which is technically LAST week. Such a plethora of pennies, and their two silver friends, that I had to adjust the size of my pictures from Way Huge Gigantic Overkill to merely LARGE.

Don't be jealous. I'm pretty sure Steven will Even me in the coming weeks.
___________________________________________________________________

2019 Running Total
Penny  #1,2,3,4,5,6,7.
Dime at 0
Nickel  #1
Quarter  #1

2018 TOTALS
Penny  131
Dime  17
Nickel  6
Quarter  1

2017 TOTALS (Started in March, 2017)
Penny  78
Dime   6
Nickel  0
Quarter  0
___________________________________________________________________