Page 4 - Scene Magazine October 2021 46-10

As Scene By
BY FREDERICK (RICK) D
ERUITER, PUBLISHER
I should also share that I didn’t measure the jar... it just seemed more fun to take a guess at its actual dimensions.
My father would hold on to his love of pennies his whole life... buying at least one new, 50-cent roll every year he lived. Unfortunately “meticulous” didn’t hold on so very much. Yep, his yearly collecting was just a big box
of mixed up copper. When he passed,
I counted, and rolled that big box of pennies – then, I simply deposited the pennies in the bank. It hurts a bit having to admit to it.
“LOOK, A PENNY!” My wife, Terri, and I rarely see an unclaimed penny at the same time. So when one of us shouts, “LOOK, A PENNY!” The other one of us will find our focus quickly, just in case I, or she, might have a chance to snap it up from the ground first. We’re a little competitive. I don’t know why. We just always have been... for over 40 years.
Even the dullest tool in the forest already knows what I keep in it... pennies. Now you’d think that – that doesn’t seem like so very many pennies at all. You might even say, “Sheesh, that ain’t so very many pennies.” To which
It was my father who introduced me to Dick Schlatter. Dick is, and was a few years younger than my dad. He’s also a few years older than me. Sort of in the middle I’d have to say.
I hope my description of him seems affectionate... because it’s intended to be. Did you ever have a really good friend who seemed more like a really cool older brother? Well, I have. How awesome is that?
Terri and I don’t exchange extra cash for pennies, or create art with them either. We find them. Then we put them in our glass jar of pennies. We call the jar, “Our Hawaii Fund.” I hope this doesn’t seem braggish... I can say with confidence that we have at least one night’s stay in a 3-star hotel completely paid for. And, it’s ALL in pennies.
I would reply... “Really? Well then the next time I rearrange my office – stop by, and MOVE THEM for me!” It’s a lot of pennies darn it! And it’s a jar – full of memories – which, has been filled by keen eyes, and itchy fingers. It’s 40 years of pennies.
So after 40 years of evening walks, after 40 years of strolling through park- ing lots with keen eyes, after 40 years of browsing through the aisles of depart- ment stores with itchy fingers... we have a modest-sized-jar (but horribly heavy), filled with 40 years of pennies.
My father collected pennies. From the time he could count – that’s when he started collecting pennies. Every year of his young life he’d take a yearly trip to the bank and exchange at least
Do you know how cool this older brother is? Well, he made a president.
4 SCENE 4610 I VETERANS ISSUE
I have this glass jar about a foot
in diameter. It’s probably about 15 inches tall. It has
a glass cover with a fairly significant glass knob at the center of the lid.
50 cents of silver coins for 50 pieces of copper. He’d meticulously finger through the pieces and file them in books. The calendar year stamped on the penny was always important. So was the lettering in 3-point type.
He made a ginormous Abraham Lincoln in fact. AND, and, he made that ginor- mous “Honest Abe” out of... pennies. Then he won a ginormous prize for his creation. Told ya he was cool.
40 Years of Pennies
DON’T MISS YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!
Be a super sleuth... join the ongoing hunt for Rick DeRuiter
Pour through the pages of Scene this month and find the
elusive DeRuiter. Warn your friends. Warn your neighbors. He’s in there somewhere, waiting for the one lucky detective to find him!
LAST MONTH... Page... 36 LAST MONTH’S WINNER... ROLLY TAFT
LOOK! - Now you can e-mail your detective work too! rick@scenepub.com. Include your name, daytime phone, and what page you found him.
OR on-line at... www.scenepub.com
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WHERE
COULD HE BE?
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