Oregon Quarter -- A Story of A Boy Who Found His True Geekdom

The attendant looked across the counter at me and said, "Don't you have two pennies? It would make it all so much easier."

I knew I had a nickel in my pocket, but I wanted to see if I would get anymore of those fancy quarters with state logos on them. Besides, I didn't want to make the whiny buy's day that much easier.

I have a confession to make. I have one of those maps in which I put the state quarters into when I get a new one. I am up to date and I actually get excited when I find a state that I haven't seen yet. I put it in a special part of my pockets and I look forward to when I get home so that I can shove it into its appropriate slot on the map of America.

(Alright... here is confession number two. I enjoy this so much that I actually have a SECOND map that is not as up to date as it is dedicated solely to quarters that are from the DENVER mint. My main map is all Philadelphia minted quarters. Did I hear you shake your head at me? That's what I thought.)

The attendant made out the 98 cents in change and put it into my hand. I used my index finger to shift the quarters around and flip them over... and there it was... the new quarter I had been waiting for... OREGON!!!

I got a big smile on my face and said to the attendant, "See? That little bit of extra work and you just made my day."

I can't understand why he would roll his eyes at that.