Minimalism and Ground Scores

Journal Entry: Weight = 175.0 lbs; Coinage = $2.87, 72 pennies, 7 nickels, 8 dimes, 4 quarters; Glass bottles located, picked-up, and stashed = 14; Ground Scores = 6, best GS was a clear plastic ruler for my Herrenzimmer office.

Journal Entry: Minimalism and Ground Scores
Yesterday the MoneyWalker talked about the joy of ground scores. In the same blog, he reported finding 8 quarters on his fitness walk, a big money day by any standards. These quarters were found inside a carwash trash barrel, but not in a usual way. With a quick nearly causal glance, I noticed a quarter in a glass container, something that resembled a small candy bowl. Beside the bowl was an identical glass container, but broken. The spotted quarter commanded a closer inspection. The bowls had obviously been thrown away even though one contained the quarter. The close inspection paid off. Just below the glass containers were seven more quarters, a couple of dimes, a nickel or two and a few pennies. They gave the appearance of having been in one or both of the dishes prior to having been thrown away. Careful to avoid collateral damage, the coins were retrieved, but why were they thrashed?

Perhaps the car’s owner was a want-to-be minimalist, a person that feels that clutter and the pursuit of “extra stuff” robs them of their energy and causes them senseless work and stress. Minimalists are hyperkinetically concerned with burden producing excess—excess debt, excess energy, excess friendship, excess food, excess possessions. It’s easy for a minimalist to feel the weight of possessions as liabilities. Thus, a minimalist would never imitate the MoneyWalker and blog about the joys of “ground scores.”

Back to the found quarters of yesterday, a minimalist rather than seeking to accumulate seeks to always to “tidy things up a bit.” So off to the car wash, vacuum the carpets, and clean out the trunk. Without inspection, with no concern for edits, the strategy is for all junk including those awful twin candy dishes to be thrown into the trash can. The fact that they contained a cache of coins was somehow forgotten or ignored.

It has been reported that $300,000 is lost each day in the United States. If so, some of the behavior that leads to lost money must surely be linked to the notion that many people just don’t won’t to be bothered by excessive stuff in their pockets, closets, homes, offices or automobiles. Out it goes and sometimes with stow away discs in the form of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters.

As for Mr. MoneyWalker, he extends his thanks to the minimalists; Ms MoneyWalker on the other hand has their full sympathy.

MoneyWalker