I'll Take the 7-Leg Flight from LAS to DCA

For the first time in recorded history, my mother is actually complaining that she doesn't have a layover on her next flight from Las Vegas to Washington, DC. My father thinks she's certifiable. I'm not sure I altogether disagree.

Now to be fair, Mom wasn't doing so well on the penny finding at her home in Las Vegas. She drives most everywhere she goes, so penny sightings are much tougher and infrequent. But then she came to DC for Christmas and found 7 cents in a matter of minutes as we walked to my department's holiday happy hour...and then she was hooked. She started looking for reasons to take walks in the cold December weather. And sure enough, she'd come back with 3, 4, even 5 cents at a time. DC was becoming her penny Mecca.

So when it was time to leave she was a little bummed about not being able to break $1 on the 2007 spreadsheet, even with all her DC penny finds. But then I reminded her not to be sad...she had an hour to kill at DCA and another hour when her flight connected throug Atlanta. And airports are certainly among the most profitable penny places. I'm not sure she believed me...but she was somewhat intrigued.

I guess she hit her stride while wandering Terminal A because I recieved 2 phone calls and 4 text messages about big finds (quarters, dimes, multi-penny sightings). She ended the day with 53 cents, almost doubling her total for the year. The funny thing was that not all of the calls were from my mom. My dad texted me once to say I had created a monster. I told him to be glad I got her hooked on pennies instead of crack cocaine or that show about Scott Baio. After all...it's for the kids!

In the end, I'm sure my mom will realize that finding pennies is a way to pass time if you are stuck with a layover. No sane human being would pick a flight with layovers just to find more pennies. Then again...who ever accused anyone scrounging pennies from gutters and airport security of being sane?!