Tuesday Treasures

I am a keeper of things.

Not any "thing" in particular and really not for any particular reason either - if that makes any sense.  There are just occasions that I come across something and I feel the need to keep it.  I have a carved wooden box at home filled with random items, confetti from my 16th birthday party, a smashed penny that I put on a railroad track over 20 years ago, and I think I've kept the cork from every bottle of wine that I've ever opened.  Just random stuff that's probably of no value to anyone other than me.

This odd $2 bill is one of the items in my collection.  I've had it so long that I don't remember exactly how or where I got it.  I just remember being intrigued by the signatures on the bill.  It's hard to read, but I think there are either 3 or 4 names on the bill.  I think the one in blue is Anthony something.  To the left of Jefferson it looks like Derek and then maybe something starting with an H.  To the right of Jefferson it looks like Steven Martin maybe?

I guess I liked it so much because it got my creative juices flowing.  Back in 1976 this bill would have been straight from the bank, still crisp, and it still would have had that funny money smell.  Maybe the dad of some little kid gave him this $2 for mowing the lawn, or for helping his grandmother carry the groceries in, or for birthday money, or for some other random reason.  So maybe this little guy wads the bill up in his sweaty little hand and shoves it in his jeans pocket.  Later that day when he's up in his treehouse with three of his other elementary school buddies the boys make some kind of pact and they all sign the bill.  Maybe they're going to use the money for a pair of x-ray glasses, or a secret decoder ring, or maybe just a new fishing pole.  Maybe they put the $2 bill in a tin can time capsule and bury it in the backyard only to dig it up a few weeks later.  Who knows what all might have happened, but maybe one of the boys finds the $2 bill in the back of an old leather wallet 30 plus years later. 

Have you guys ever seen "Stand By Me," - the movie based on the novel "The Body" by Steven King?  I watched it again this weekend and it reminded me of my $2 bill.  That is such a great coming of age movie.  I hope everyone has a great Tuesday and I'll leave you with some cool pics of scenes from that movie.  None of these pics belong to me - you can right click the pics and then properties to see the sites that they came from.