So while driving to New Orleans yesterday, I saw this sign.
My first impulse was to run into the building, yell “Congratulations!” Elf-style, and depart. However, we’d been on the road for six hours and I was under strict instructions not to reenact any movie scene at a restaurant that would prevent us from eating at said restaurant.
When we (calmly, with no Will Ferrell antics) walked inside, I immediately noticed that every available wall surface had been covered with laminated quotes about life, death, marriage, children, jobs, etc. You name it, and Wintzell’s Oyster House had something to say about it.
Naturally, I found some that were related to money, and pennies in particular. I snapped a few pictures, and figured I’d post them here today.
Then I read The Bloggess’ newest entry, about unfinished quotes by anonymous writers. As is usually the case after reading anything by The Bloggess, my plan took a sharp left turn down the path of whimsy and creepy trees.
Thus, we arrived here- the part where I present:
Personality Profiles of Fictional People in Penny-Related Quotes
1) 
This is good advice, spoken by a regretful Canadian accountant. You have to keep a close eye on those pennies. Otherwise, they might run right out in front of Congress and get themselves abolished. Just look at what happened when Canada got all lassiez-faire about raising their pennies to a higher standard. Such a shame. People- do your part. Don’t let a good penny go to waste. It’s 10 o-clock. Do you know where your change is?
2) 
Truer words have never been spoken by a pensioner living on a fixed income. This man is over 65, has finally paid off his house and car, and uses his Social Security check to buy groceries for himself and cat food for his wife’s 17 cats. The wife left him for a cabana boy three years ago, but the man just can’t bring himself to get rid of the cats. Especially not since he began training them as attack ninjas who activate at the sight of that back-stabbing two-timing nag of a demon woman. Yes, the cats have proven very useful indeed.
3) 
This is a classic case of OCD. The inability to see the forest for all the damned trees that won’t get themselves into a reasonable tallest-to-smallest order by species even though you’ve asked politely at least a dozen times.
Oh wait, that says gowned foolish, doesn’t it? Hmm. This presents two possible explanations, then.
a) The poor girl has sensory issues, and fabric texture goes a long way towards making each day bearable. Thus, she spends all her money on luxurious silk dresses, the kind that do not have a tag sewn in anywhere. Her spouse does not understand this, and just thinks her delightfully quirky if slightly fiscally irresponsible. He doesn’t mind the silk neckties that she makes him out of the old dresses, however.
b) She’s a Kardashian.
(Note- these two aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive.)
4) 
There’s nothing like a sign in an Alabama restaurant that takes a dig at its clientele. No, that’s not a commentary on the general intelligence of Alabama-dwellers. It’s just that I’m pretty sure this guy was sitting three booths away from us at the restaurant. He’s the good-ole-boy type with a heart of gold and a head full of rocks. And now a gut full of small change. He’ll go home tonight, announce to his wife that he’s planning to make a change, and request transportation to the hospital. He’ll repeat the story to the pastor at church on Sunday, and again back at the bar on Wednesday night. The waitress will sigh, and tell Ol’ Billy that she’d sure like to see some change in him, same as she does every week. Ol’ Billy will get to thinking on that over his third YuengLing, and it’ll all start again. Ah, the vicious cycle of poverty.
It’s such a privilege when I can put that Psychology degree to work. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to finish this…
If I ever end up on Death Row, remind me that this ought to be my last meal. It’s that good.
Losing My Cents 
Toss in your two cents