Pennies from Heaven...sort of

A true story of collections and pennies. And in my opinion...a very funny story. 

My ex-wife really liked going to the Village Inn for coffee with her friend. It was like 2 bucks every time they went. Well, once upon a time Andrea somehow bounced a check for her coffee. Why she wrote a check for a buck or two is beyond me, as is how we managed to bounce it but...whatever.

Well, the first we heard about it was when a collection agency called. Nor were they nice about it. They actually had Andrea in tears. So I took it upon myself to ensure they knew it was not the proper way to deal with the situation.

The bill itself was just a couple bucks but their fees meant it was something like fifteen bucks. So I went to the bank, bought 15 bucks in pennies, put them in a paper grocery bag and headed down to the collection spot.

Went in, someone said, Can I help you? I replied yeah, we were notified there was a bounced check and I am here to take care of it and to tell you whoever called was very rude. 

They asked who called, I said some woman. So this really rude, snooty woman said, "Well, I am the only woman who works here and I CERTAINLY was not rude to her on the phone."

Stop. Hold it. Who am I going to believe, my wife or someone in collections who IS SPEAKING VERY RUDELY WHILE TELLING ME SHE WAS NOT RUDE?"

So I said, "Here is your money" and dumbed the pennies on the counter. 

That is a lot of pennies, by the way. 

And some fell on the floor.

Guy comes running out from the back, says, "What is going on?"

I explained and he is getting all red faced. Says, "Well, those are not legal tender and you are going to pick them all up before you leave."

I didn't say a word, just looked him in the eye, stretched my arm across the counter and scattered the pennies as far across the room as I physically could, turned and walked out. 

Post script: Since we knew Evelyn, the owner of the V.I., we called her and explained what happened, that we were sorry we had bounced a check and would pay her promptly had we only known. She apologized for how it was handled, that she knew we would take care of it...and fired the collection agency. 

Sometimes I can still see those pennies flying off the counter onto the floor and just smile. I guess I have a fair amount of jerk in me :-)