Columnist
A penny is a lot of money, if you have not got a penny.
-- Yiddish proverb
You don't have to tell Pat in Evans that the economy's getting tough. She called Friday to say she got a "wheat" penny in her change at the store.
"You know things are bad, when people start spending the money in their coin collections," she said. "It's a real sign that people dig so deep."
For you youngsters, wheat pennies were the regular U.S. penny from 1910 to 1958. They get their name from the back where the words "ONE CENT" are surrounded by two stalks of wheat. With rare exception, they're usually worth a couple of extra cents to collectors.
Pat said she pointed this out to the young woman cashier, who had never heard of wheat pennies, and didn't know that anything -- including coinage -- could be so old.
REMEMBERING MARIE: I wrote last week about the Augusta life of Athens, Ga., shooting victim Marie Bruce , pointing out that she first appeared in The Chronicle back in 1970, when her Brownie troop contributed to The Empty Stocking Fund in memory of Donna Nichols .
Cathleen Sors tells us more.
"I ... was in (her) Brownie troop, and we were remembering the tragic death of one of our own: Donna Nichols," she wrote. "To this day I make compassion a part of my day; in honor of Donna, and now Marie, too. Marie chose law and acting, I chose the nursing profession.
"Thanks for mentioning Marie and by way of Marie, you brought me Donna again."
PET NAMES: After Friday's column on odd pet names, Carl called to say he's looking after a dog for his mother. He said the dog's name is Ali, and he thought that was an unusual name.
I told Carl it was probably OK if Ali was a boxer.
TODAY'S JOKE: Here's one shared by Everett Fernandez .
Some senior citizens were exchanging notes about their ailments:
"My arm is so weak I can hardly hold this coffee cup."
"Yes, I know. My cataracts are so bad I can't see to pour the coffee."
"I can't turn my head because of the arthritis in my neck."
"My blood pressure pills make my dizzy."
"I guess that's the price we pay for getting old."
"Well, it's not all bad. We should be thankful that we can still drive!"
Reach Bill Kirby at (706) 823-3344 or bill.kirby@augustachronicle.com.
