Streets Paved With Zinc, Nickel, Copper, and Manganese

I like walking around Belmont.

A stroll through Belmont gives me a chance to enjoy some fresh air, meet some interesting people, and (most importantly) an opportunity to find money.

Since moving to Belmont in 2010, I’ve found $83.09 on the streets, sidewalks, and parking lots in our city.

I know the exact amount of money I’ve found in Belmont because since 2005 (when I officially declared it a hobby) I’ve been setting aside all the money I find. Over the last 7 years, I’ve found over $500 in coins and paper money.

I’ve always believed I find money because I’m a lucky guy and so many people are careless with their money. But one day I was walking near when a school kid walking ahead of me saw a dime on the sidewalk. He picked up the dime, turned to his friend and said, “Hey, I found a dime.”

Then the kid tossed the dime into the shopping carts lined up outside the store, saying something about how it was bad luck to pick up a coin that was tail side up.

As I mentally cursed the kid for throwing the dime out of my reach, I wondered how many more people subscribe to such foolishness. Personally, I subscribe to the adage - see a penny, pick it up, and all day long have good luck. If you have to have a foolish belief, choose the one that puts money in your pocket.

Before seeing this school kid, I had no clue how money got (and remained) on the streets for me to find it. I always wondered if there were people so flush with cash that they threw coins to the ground rather than keep change in their pockets.

Sometimes I pretended diehard fans of the Confederate States of America hated Lincoln so much that they threw pennies to the ground. I, of course, love Abe Lincoln. After all, how can I not love the man who freed my people from blood-sucking vampires?

There are those of you probably wondering why I bother to pick up money that I don’t intend to spend. There are several reasons I save the money I find. The best, of course, is that saving the money gives me a good shot at appearing on a network morning show such as “The Today Show” or “Good Morning America.”

After all, an old man who has found $4,456.83 over a 50 plus year period sounds like the kind hokey segment you see on a morning news show. I figure one day I will be a welcome addition to a show featuring an actor promoting his new movie and some lady hawking her latest diet book.

Until I’m able to go on TV and get my 15 minutes of fame, I’ll keep walking and finding money. After all, there seems to be no shortage of people losing it.