Penny From Heaven

The sun glinted off a piece of metal just showing through the dirt and dried weeds of late summer. He bent to look and then tried to pick it up from where it was wedged. It took some poking and wiggling to remove it from what must have been its home for quite some time. After turning it over on his palm several times he realized it was a penny that had been flattened and stretched to the size of a silver dollar. He smiled slightly as he closed his fingers into a fist around the coin.

He remembered taking pennies and placing them on train tracks when he was young. The reprimands of his mother to "stay away from those tracks" making the adventure all the sweeter. Remembering the thrill of placing the penny and then running like hell because Old Jim had told him a single penny could derail a train. Remembering the laying in wait and the panting run back to the tracks for the retrieval. Remembering not being able to show his parents for fear of being grounded for not "staying away from those tracks". Not that his father would have minded, might even have been proud of his son's daring escapade but would also never have gone against the wishes of his wife and her boatload of worries.

Most of the time, on his treks home for supper, he would throw those coins into the weeds or if he was walking into town would present them to Molly who always exclaimed, "Well, my my, I bet I can buy extra with this big ol' penny" and it always made him smile. Just like he was smiling now. Just like he hadn't smiled in a long time.

Penny still clenched in hand, he headed to the tracks with those age old admonishments ringing in his head. No one to scold him now but the same thrill of placing the penny on the track and running, a bit more slowly, for cover. The wait seemed longer, but then the trains don't run as often now. This time though when he picked up his prized he pocketed it with the one that spurred his current reminiscing adventure and strolled toward home for supper. This time he would keep one but still give one to Molly.