$2 Billloggin'

The teller at the bank told me my $2 bills had NEVER been in circulation.

What a thrill, forty dollars worth of $2 bills coming into the world for the very first time! Where would they go, what would they do, where will they stay? Will they be spent? Will they be treasured? Will they be tucked safely in small tin boxes, bill folds, lace-covered cleavage? I felt, as the initial distributor of my special bills, that I should spend them wisely and with purpose, to be noticed and appreciated.

So far, I have used them to "tip" and purchase two fantastic shades of "Wet n' Wild" nail polish, each priced at $1.99. But the best way I have used them was to pay a kind gentleman (I assume without an address, if you know what I mean), named Andrew to wash my windows. I was in the Trader Joe's parking lot after using my debit card to buy my weekly groceries. Feeling tired at the end of the day and a little worn, I was staring down at my boots as they squished and sloshed in the quickly melting snow. I looked up with surprise as a man holding a squirt bottle and paper towels asked if I could spare some change for a window wash. I always try to oblige folks that offer wash my windows for a little change. It sure beats asking for change for doing "nothing" and hell, I've got a crisp $2 bill for someone offering to do "something."

So as he scrubbed at my dirty windows, I began to chat with him and found out he was the middle child of a family of 3 boys and 2 girls, had grown up in Santa Fe "all his life" but had traveled to Corona and Riverside of my home state, California. He gave me a "Military salute" because he preferred it over the "Navy salute" even though he was partial to the Navy. He built houses with his dad throughout New Mexico and assured me he was staying warm this winter. I agreed with him when he said it was too bad that everyone was too rushed for Christmas and that today felt more like the special day, since I wasn't in a rush and stayed for a chat.

When I handed him the crisp $2 bill I had ready in my pocket, he held it in both of his worn hands, jaw gaping in surprise. I asked him if he'd ever seen a $2 bill since they were so rare. He told me he wasn't going to spend it, but save it and show it to me when we met again in heaven. I decided to give him another to spend if he was going to save the other one and told him to at least get something for himself. He said good-bye with another "Military" salute as I got into my car.

It was the best conversation I had all day.
-Jessie, Santa Fe, NM