So I am reading the paper this morning and before I go any further, Yes. I am the type of person that wakes up and has breakfast while reading the paper. A long time ago a lady I worked with told me you have to wake up two hours before you have to be at work. It sounded like rubbish to me then but as I get older, I find she is right. I can't hop out of bed and run to work. I have to "wake up" and that process takes about two hours. Anyway, I am reading in the paper this morning that Americans are complaining about the dollar coin. Again! and Already! It has only been out for a month! I haven't even seen one yet. How in the world can you be tired of something you haven't even seen?

Okay. Let me back up and try to convince you that dollar coins are a GOOD thing.

Canadians, The English, The European Union, Mexico, Australia, Russia, Denmark and I am sure there are others, all have coins that cover the 1 or 2 denomination of their monetary system. If it works for the rest of the world, does that mean that we shouldn't do it just to be different? Oh I get it. We are just trying to make it even more difficult for people that come from other countries to get along here. I understand now, our main goal in shunning the coin is to irritate other countries. Well, I have bad news. We can do that without our money. All they have to do it turn on the television and see Britney beating a car with an umbrella, or watch us stand by while a nation is exterminated in Darfur. I am sure we can bother other cultures without using paper money.

If the nation switches to coins over bills, just think of all the people that would benefit. Soda drinkers. No longer would you have to try to feed a dollar bill into the machine 2000 times. Screaming in frustration as it spits the torn up little bill back at you. Soda is a buck? Drop one coin, ta-da! Parking the car? No more hunting for change or running to Starbucks to try and get them to break a dollar. Having to buy a $9 dollar latte, paying with a ten and asking for the change in Quarters only to find that you got a ticket while you were in the shop. Just drop the buck coin. Retail workers? No more waiting for the person in front of you to dig little balls of bills out of their pockets to pay with then trying to fit them into the till. If all that isn't enough to convince someone to at least TRY the bloody coin before they dismiss it, then the terrorists have won. Plain and simple.

In other news. March is coming to an end and I can't decide if it is going out like a lion or a lamb. I am taking bets though and giving odds. My money is on the lamb. I saw robins in the park the other day pecking for worms. Spring is almost here. Soon to follow will be humidity, cranked air conditioners and Red-Air days. I am so excited.

Let's see? What else? I read a book. Surprised? Don't be, the words were small, only the concept was large. The book was "Killing Johnny Fry" by Walter Mosely. I stumbled on a galley of it in the conference room and picked it up. I was a little nervous about it at first, but I am grown up and not scared of words. After a few pages, I thought it was just some literary porn I was going to be able to discount but then I started to notice things in the book. The main character, Cordell Carmel (what a cool name) goes through a similar mental and physical change as the main character in Murakami's "Wind Up Bird Chronicle". It must be good if I can tie it to Murakami.

Cordell discovers that his girlfriend of many years has been cheating on him. Not in your basic, cheating style, she is another person entirely when she is with this other man. Everything about her changes from when she is with her weekday lover (Johnny Fry) to when she is with Cordell on the weekends. This switch in her character causes a similar, albeit more permanent, switch in Cordell. He changes jobs, personal habits, promiscuity, everything but his hairstyle. Her shift causes his shift which in turn causes other characters to shift, eventually resulting in, well... I don't want to tell you too much. I encourage those among you that are not afraid of reading about sex, to pick it up. If you liked "Wind Up Bird", if you watched "American Beauty", my theory is that you will like "Killing Johnny Fry". Don't be afraid of the words, just get involved in the concept and the content.

I will be back next week to remind you all about Passover. Until then.

Editor's Notes: The countries mentioned are all places that the blogger has been to and witnessed the coinage Excepting Australia.

Coins are a good thing. PLEASE try them. There is another spot in the cash drawer, just take the rolled coins out of it.

Existential thought is a really cool concept. Read the book. Don't be afraid.