31 Cents of Excitement

While on a walk, I spied a penny wedged between two landscaping stones next to the sidewalk. I bent over to retrieve it and, whad’ya know? I also found six nickels. I sashayed home with the weight of 31 cents of excitement in my pocket.

My new penny and its six companions rested on my nightstand until my daughter shared with me the second chapter in Annie Dillard’s book Pilgrim in Tinker Creek. I was struck by Dillard’s phrase, “The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand. But . . . who gets excited by a mere penny?” Yes, who?

Determined to ferret out at least an ounce of excitement from the women in my writing group, I used the coins as a writing prompt. I had each writer randomly pick a coin and, using the coin’s mint date in her first sentence, jot down a few thoughts that showed up. Here’s what came:

• A fictional character named Darla decided 2004 was the year to dump her six jerky boyfriends.
• A mother’s 1964 journal entries showed agonized concern for her daughter’s health.
• A woman in her 50s fretted that it was already 2008 and she still didn’t know the difference between a VHS recorder and an Apple iPod.

Whom does a mere penny excite? Me. And my writing friends. How about you? How many pennies—and even bigger denominations of excitement—might you find hidden between the rocks where you walk?

Faye Quam Heimerl © 2011

Faye Quam Heimerl of Quam Editorial helps you generate excitement with your writing. Contact Faye at Faye@QuamEditorial.com or call 303.505.3530.