Face it, we live in a society where we walk by money on the ground almost everyday; pennies, nickles, dimes, quarters and the occasional dollar bill adrift and forgotten. Most people, myself  included, don't stop to pick up the coins unless of course it is a quarter because there is something magical about a quarter. Think about it, when I was growing up a quarter could buy a bottle of Coke, a pack of gum or a candy bar. A gallon of gas was only a quarter when my parents were learning to drive and my grandparents could go to a movie for twenty-five cents during the Great Depression.  I once worked in a school located in a rather affluent area and finding money on the floor was commonplace, one of the other staff members would all but dive to the floor to recover stray coinage, she would tally the amount then pocket the loot.  Typically by the end of the school year when she totaled her tally sheet she would realize an increase in her pay of around $10.  I dared to ask her what she did with all that money only to be snapped at and told that of course she pocketed it, she deserved it! Ok, that was her choice.  When we lived in Columbus, Indiana there was a woman at our church (who's name escapes me) who would, with her daughter, collect all of the loose change they found and put it in a box.  At the end of the year they would donate all of the money to a local charity or to the church, if memory serves I think her totals were typically $25-35.

  Some days it is hard for me to comprehend the fact that we live in a society that doesn't give a second glance to change adrift on the floor or in the street when there are so many people in this world who would love to have our loose change to buy food to feed their families or buy medication.  Think of the change our loose change could make if we just stopped to pick it up and pass it on to someone in need.

  Well, as luck would have it for me a few days ago as I was leaving our 3rd floor condo I found not loose change or even a one dollar bill but a lonely $5 bill sitting on a stair, cold and separated from its owner just waiting to be picked up and tucked into a warm pocket.  Naturally my first reaction was "Sweet...what should I do with this? Mmmmm, a vanilla Chai sure would be nice." Within a second or two another thought popped into my little head, the notion that someone else's misfortune  (losing money) should not necessarily be my free trip to Starbucks (which is really just a grown-up  Mc Donald's for caffeine addicted adults).  You see I have a personal holiday tradition of putting at least one dollar in the red Salvation Army bell-ringers bucket every time I pass one (well to be honest, if I am going into a store I will put the money in on my way out ) and as I do I offer up thanks for all I have.  Times have not always been easy for us but we have never gone hungry or been without a roof over our heads yet we have been without jobs or worked multiple jobs simultaneously to stay afloat. I have mended socks and stressed over the purchase of a $2 pair of pajama bottoms on the sale rack at Target, even though our son could have really used them.

  Last year I had a really hard time with the bell-ringer at our local King Soopers grocery store because each and every time someone put money in his shiny red bucket he would stop ringing his bell and look to see exactly how much was going into his bucket and I found this to be more than a little off-putting.  I did not like the fact that he wanted to know how much went into his bucket before he said "thank you" or "Merry Christmas." This young man was clearly in need but at the same time one cannot tell how much money someone has in their wallet just by looking at them, and who knows, perhaps the folks putting in loose change was all they could afford or maybe they were being stingy. Yet I still put money in his bucket every time I passed through the doors, even if it was multiple times on a given day but honestly there were days I struggled with the gift yet I always said a prayer of thanks.

   So back to the cold and lonely five dollar bill sitting on a frozen stair in our building waiting and wanting to feel the warmth of someones hand as it passes from one palm to the other in exchange for goods or services or possibly as a gift.  Yes, as soon as I wrap up this blog I will head to my neighborhood King Soopers to purchase food for the next week as well as Christmas dinner and the nice man who now graces its entrance, who never fails to say "Thank you" and "Merry Christmas" without suspending his bell ringing or looking to see how much people have put in his bucket (and recognizes me from my multiple trips into the store),  he will be the recipient of this $5 plus whatever else I had set aside to give today. Who knows, that lost $5 bill could be the five dollars that changes his life.

There, but for the grace of God go I.