Coin Lady

I haven’t seen my coin lady in Garland since before Christmas. The US mint is so erratic issuing State Quarters that are supposed to come out every 10 weeks, but rarely do, that I would often turn up on Saturday morning to find that no new quarters were available. I’ve been there once or twice this year, but the shop was always closed – this isn’t unusual, because personal commitments sometimes get in the way of normal opening hours. I keep saying that I’ll call before going, but I never do. The truth is that it’s fun to have somewhere to go on a Saturday morning. It was a jumping off point for the nearby Hindu temple, for an amazing sense of peace, or to Fry’s Electronics, to covet the latest gadgets, or to Whole Foods Market on Lemmon, for some grocery shopping, or to the Caribbean shop on 635 for a spicy Jamaican pattie and a Ting for lunch.

Debbie

So I was pleased as I parked opposite to see that the shop was open, and surprised as I approached to see that she’d dramatically changed her hair style. The first thing I did on walking through the door was to compliment her on her hair. She immediately responded that it was a wig, and broke down in tears. She’s had an ovarian cyst, requiring surgery and follow-on chemotherapy. Her mother died last year, and without that income (they shared the house), and without any siblings, she can no longer afford to keep the shop open. Her father was a builder, and started up the coin shop when he retired in 1971. She took it over when he died. I guess her world has suddenly been turned upside-down.

She’s looking for a job in the local education system, but would prefer an office job – although she’s trained as a teacher, she’s never had children, and has no brothers or sisters, and doesn’t feel confident about being in a classroom. The 10 year State Quarter program (5 states each year) finishes this year, and she wants to try to continue with existing customers, even though she expects to close the shop at the end of May.

It certainly makes you think. How quickly things can change. Please say a little prayer for her – half of the set of 50 quarters my children will get when the program finishes will have come from her shop. And I didn’t even know her name before today – it’s Debbie, by the way.