Even Ten Pennies Can’t Make a Dime

Passing through the warm July night in Tallahassee, FL headed partially between the corner of Tennessee street and high road. During my night travels my mind curved with the intentions of catching a quick break from my night job, and pulling into one of the local restaurants where a friend worked. On the site of the restaurant, my eyes witnessed a scene of subtle disappointment. It was a woman dressed in rags with looks between the ages of forty five and fifty, but she was probably thirty two.

The woman with rags and a depreciated sense of help, had a display of a bunch of pennies and a collection of other silver coins on the counter for the manager to cash her out. A major sigh of disappointment was cast upon the woman with rags because not only did the manager say she would not exchanged her coins for dollars, but she also threatened the woman with law enforcement showing up.

And that was the epiphany for me, there she was an innocent poor woman at a local restaurant not begging for money, just wanting to exchange her change for cash so her pockets wouldn’t be overloaded at night.

Even ten pennies can’t make a dime in this world for our poor. Because at the very moment when they really need our help, we flip a coin and turn them down and decide to not make the transaction. Did the restaurant have the right to deny her bills for change? Well of course they have that right, their not a bank. But was it morally justified to the point in which the cops were to be called? No!

Our poor needs better treatment, the benefit of the doubt and just an overall respect from people. Who knows what life situations will put downgrade anyone to poverty. That pissed off manager never knows when she may have to shuffle pennies just to make a dime.