Got One for Abby

If you are anything like me and indulge in the occasional read of an advice column or twelve, you have probably encountered the Dear Abby letter trope in which someone receives a message from a dearly departed in the form of a lucky penny find. I am not sure why some choose loose change as their communication medium over radio static or curtain rustling. Here's what I do know: When I was a newbie technical writer at my very first job-job, I attended one of the monthly birthday cake gatherings in the hall between the cubes. Someone brought up the nifty, novel new quarters for each state. The first one had just come out. Because my social shtick is very often Seinfeld-esque, my input was something along the lines of, "What is the deal with Caesar Rodney? Does ANYBODY know who that is? Is that really the best you could do, Delaware?!"

I am older now, so I would probably not be so willing to mock a state for knowing its own history better than I do. But my enthusiastic snarkiness (a word that perhaps had not yet even been coined) caught the attention of one Liz, a supervisor on another project. She told me later that it cracked her up how worked up I got that there was going to be someone on a coin I had never heard of. Nice of her not to say that it cracked her up that I had never heard of Caesar Rodney. She became my first real mentor, an attendee (if not instigator) of some of the best happy hours of my life, and a very good friend.

Liz's body was something of a traitor to her, and for the last few years that we were in Minnesota, she wasn't working anymore. This was a loss to the technology industry, she was good at her job, smart and funny, and (just for the record) extremely well-dressed. When we moved away, I had less and less contact with Liz, getting too wrapped up in my own busy life. It had been, regrettably, a very long time since I spoke with her when her husband contacted me on Friday to let me know that she had passed away. I am so sad that she is gone, and mad at myself for not letting her know more often in the last few years what she meant to me.

This morning we were actually running a bit early for church, for ONCE, and I had time to remember to dig out some change for the girls to bring in for Jalineda, a Hatian girl that our Sunday school kids sponsor. Naomi said she wanted to look for the really shiny coins she had found the other day to bring along, but not wanting to squander our rare time edge, I told her I'd find the shiniest quarters from our change jar. The first one I pulled out shone like it was brand new. Delaware, the First State! Caesar himself riding across the front.

First Ever Post from Device that Shall Remain Nameless

Jim is always encouraging me to use the "Device" and claiming that it is really easy to type on, etc. I have been, and remain skeptical. But here Muriel and I are in Chicago, with the "Device," so I'm taking a crack at it. I am enjoying the auto-correct...

We are visiting our old and dear friends, and a new friend, their one-year-old daughter. What fun to be away from home, see friends, and remember the toddler years. Muriel is mostly doing well, except for a brief and glorious fit earlier today, and a really very poignant and early bout of homesickness when we first arrived. I am doing a poor job of taking photos, and not doing so greet on this so-called keyboard, so let's just take this back up on the west coast. Good night, Chicago!

Originally, I named the device, but it has already resulted in my first ever spam-ish comment, so, forget it. It's a four-letter-word, rhymes with shmyshmad.