100 pennies
10 dimes
20 nickels
4 quarters
2-50cent pieces
Or any combination of the above
or one Susan B. Anthony
or one Sacajawea
or one George Washington himself
I learned to count before entering school
Could recognize and name change pieces by age 6
Learned basic math before learning to read
Made it a point to demonstrate my number skills to all the adults in my life every chance I got
Then one day grandpa asked me if I knew the value of a dollar
I rattled off the first lines of this piece
Proud of my knowledge
And
Got laughed at
Confused by that
So I pointed out that I was correct
He agreed
Then laughed again
Pointed out that I gave him what makes a dollar
Not a dollar’s value
Asked me where dollars come from
I said,
“From him, Grandma, Momma, and Daddy. The bank?”
He laughed again, then said, “Yep, but not really. But you’ll know when you get bigger, older”
Danged, if I ain’t hate that answer
Cuz it always popped up just when I thought I was smarter than I was last time that old man asked me questions.
Old Man was right, though. He died in ’86,long before I learned a dollar’s “value”, but now I definitely know the difference between “value” and what equals one
“Value of a Dollar”
is as follows:
How long does it take to earn your dollar?
How likely are you to get another one?
Where do you have to go to get your dollar?
What do you have leave behind to earn each one?
How much aggravation comes with each dollar earned? How much pleasure?
Will earning your dollar take years from your life?
Will the dollar you earn add life to your years?
Do you have time to enjoy the dollar after you earn it?
Does your dollar bring happiness to the ones you get the dollar for? Does the dollar bring them sadness?
Does the dollar you earn help you breathe easy? Sleep easy? Walk proudly?
I believe I now know the value
Quite sad that Grandpa was gone before I became able to answer the question
Quite happy that I can answer it
And teach my younguns
As I laugh at their earnest ignorance, just as he once did at mine
I know this is long
And prolly not poetry
Sorry
But I just had one of dem “Aha,(epiphany) moments” and nuthin else to do but jot it down