Quarters: Still crazy after all these years.
This is pretty random: Do quarters excite you? When I was a kid, a quarter was one of the single most amazing things in the world. It could: a) buy candy, b) pay for one round on a favorite arcade game, or c) be stacked with other quarters until an entire dollar, or multiple dollars, accumulated. Then, that collection of quarters could pay for a binge: lots of candy, or many arcade games.
Now I horde quarters for laundry. I need 9 quarters for a washing machine and 8 for a dryer. I’d need 19 quarters if I used the fancy triple-load washers, but I don’t use those because they go against my traditional laundromat value system. But still, even when I have to accumulate a zillion quarters to do something mildly useful, a single quarter has much power.
I’m thinking about this because I ended up with a lot of quarters this weekend. I ate out a couple times (I don’t do that much when I’m at school), paid cash, got change, and then realized that quarters still have magical properties.
Am I strange? Or are there childhood talismans you recall fondly, like I do quarters? And popsicles. And Matchbox cars. And Lincoln Logs. And crayons.
I’m sure there are more…
Posted: December 9th, 2009 under Ain't That America.
Comments: 8
Comments
Comment from MH
Time: December 9, 2009, 9:14 am
You have forced me to make a blog entry about this subject… Mine is about Slim Jims. Yeah I know, it is stupid, yet not. Thank you!
Comment from Alex
Time: December 9, 2009, 1:28 pm
Mmm…Slim Jims. I might have to grab some at the store. Such an awesome texture! Snappy, and squishy.
Comment from Alex
Time: December 9, 2009, 3:19 pm
Why did I use that title? Now I have Paul Simon stuck in my head.
Comment from MH
Time: December 10, 2009, 9:07 am
You know when I started this BlogJam thing, I envisioned something like this. This being somebody writes something, others read it and thus are inspired and they write something, and then we can solve world hunger or cure cancer… or just have a bit of fun.
Comment from Sarah
Time: December 10, 2009, 9:09 am
while i am completely sold on the youthful talismans still holding your dedication, i am equally shocked by the number of said talismans (talismen?) it takes to do a load of laundry!!!
Comment from Carolyn
Time: December 10, 2009, 5:18 pm
Yes! Quarters are fat, magical money, more jangly and lively and valuable, somehow, than flat money. The 1965 and even earlier ones seemed thicker, and were held and passed out by wise old grandparents. As kids, we squashed pennies and nickels on the railroad tracks, but we never would have dared to brutalize a quarter! (Or was it because we feared derailing the train?) Anyways, I concur!
Comment from Alex
Time: December 10, 2009, 8:37 pm
That’s a good point — newer quarters seem a less substantial. At first I liked the new designs, per state, but then they started bothering me. I don’t want gimmicks. I want quality quarters.
Comment from Alex
Time: December 10, 2009, 8:44 pm
MH — I’d like to make a goal out of improving DC-area sports teams, so let’s start with that.
Sarah — yeah, laundry day is kind of expensive. However, I’ve devised several systems that have me at the laundromat about twice a semester. Writers aren’t solitary because they want to be…it’s because their clothes stink.
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