I'll Take a Mojito...And All the Change in That Man's Pocket!

This penny project has sharpened my "Spidey Senses" to ridiculous heights. I've always had 20/20 vision and pretty good hearing...but suddenly I can see a penny from 2 blocks away and although I couldn't determine exactly what a pin dropping sounds like, I can hear a penny hit the floor from across a crowded room. Not that this is a good gift, since my desire to add pennies to the spreadsheet combined w/ my new found talent for hearing coins hit the ground causes me to occasionally do something a little crazy. Take the other night for instance.

I was on a business trip to Florida, enjoying a tasty mojito in the lobby bar of Disney's Yacht Club. Two of my friends had taken some time off of work to join me on the trip and we had linked up with some fun conference attendees, including a friend of mine from DC I was pleasantly surprised to see at the opening night reception! So there we were, enjoying a few drinks (number ? of many that evening) when the sound I love to hear hit my ear...change a jinglin' as it hits the floor! I quickly looked around to see where the change had landed and if it was clear for a pick-up.

Now this is where the mojito(s) must've kicked in and overtaken my good sense because I didn't stay in my seat when I saw that the change had fallen out of a man's pocket (a well-dressed, distinguished man, if I recall...although I was so focused on the dime and 3 pennies I can't say for sure) and landed practically under his chair. No, no. I popped up out of my seat and bee-lined for the table where the man and his friends were sitting. I promptly told him my friends and I were collecting change we find on the ground for charity. He scoffed and said, I'll bet...the charity's probably you. I assured him it was not and that there was a spreadsheet involved (I don't know why I think that will assure people instead of scare them). He shrugged his shoulders, told me to help himself...and then scooped another 7 cents out of his pocket onto the floor (which, for those of you questioning whether or not that should count, went in the "donations column" because clearly, at that point the man just wanted to give a little more to the cause!

So there it is...my Disney find such as it was. Oh, and I picked up a nickel in the MGM Studios park too, so I was good for about a quarter in Florida! And I only scared a few bar patrons instead of my usual bus full of people. I consider that a pretty good trip!