The BAD Penny

A few years ago I was working at a company that was in close proximity to a lot of places nearby in malls to choose from to eat out for lunch. Most days when the weather was nice my co-worker Josie & I would walk somewhere for lunch or to go shopping. We had a whole hour to kill so it beat walking around the building 15 times for exercise.

This one particular day we were cutting across a parking lot when I spotted a nice shiny penny on the ground. Yes I was one of those people that stopped to pick up money off the ground, even pennies. We both made a dive for it and she beat me to it.
The next morning Josie came into my office with tears in her eyes, slapped the penny on my desk and told me I could have it. So much for good luck, she said. She found out her husband was cheating on her with his secretary.
Later that afternoon I was called into my manager’s office and was told that due to a shortage of work my contract was being terminated. This kind of caught me off guard because the job I was assigned to was not quite finished and I almost always picked up when things were slowing down in the work department. I just didn’t see a slow down coming up any time soon, so I couldn’t believe my ears. I dug the penny out of my pocket and marched over to Josie’s cubicle. I told her the bad news that I was no longer employed as of Friday. At that point I threw the penny in her trash bin.
Right then her manager came in to her office because he wondered why I looked so upset. I told him I was just given my walking papers and he was as surprised as I was. At that moment he saw the penny in the trash and picked it out. We both gasped and told him to leave it be. It was a BAD penny, but his remark was that it was just a penny and he put it in his pocket. We tried to warn him but he just chuckled and said he was off to have a chat with my manager about my termination. We both shrugged our shoulders and said “he was warned”
The next morning Josie came to my office and told me that her manager, Bob was not in. We both said at the same time “The BAD Penny”
About an hour later there was a notice posted on the board that Bob’s father had passed away in the night.

From that moment on we both vowed to never pick up another penny, ever. Since then a penny on the ground would stop me in my tracks and remind me of that day. At least until a couple of weeks ago…

…..I parked my car in the garage and walked down the driveway to the mailbox. There on the ground was a brand new shiny penny. For some strange reason it didn’t stop me in my tracks. It didn’t remind me of the BAD penny at all. I promptly picked it up and put it in my pocket. Not till I pulled it out of my pocket once I was standing in my dining room did I realize what I had done. I had picked up a penny. What to do. Do I put it back on the driveway where I found it? Do I keep it?
The penny has been sitting on the edge of the kitchen table for almost two weeks now, reminding me every time I look at it of what to do. This too is a “BAD Penny” I just realized today that bad things have been creeping into my life in the past two weeks. Coincidence? Maybe, but my dad’s health is at stake here. I guess this makes me superstitious. Can I put it somewhere that a certain person will find it and they can unknowingly deal with it? Problem is I would have to drive in my car to dispose of it. Does this make me an evil person. So be it…can I drive with it in my car?

I’ll let you know…….