Zen Walker
BK taught me the concept of combining money walking with power walking.  B has moved but we visit a couple of times a year and always take a 5 miler.  While my blog gets the attention of our mutual friends, he never lets me forget that he is the original Zen Master of money walking.  As my luck would have it, he spotted a $20 on our walk this morning.  Worse, he found it just as I was explaining my money walking techniques to other friends on the walk.  I guess BK will always be the Zen Master.

John's Humanity

Weight = 177.6 lbs

Coinage = $2.43

Best Find = a lonely dime in an muddy ditch.

Panhandler Profile:

As a frequent walker, I am often approached by panhandlers, men and women.  Yesterday while enjoying a senior coffee at Mickey Ds, a man ask me for a couple of quarters to “get something.”  I always say yes.  But I don’t just hand it to them without a human connection.  As I slowly handed the change, I introduced myself and ask for his name.  “John!” he said.  I said, “John, do you work.”  I unintentionally put him on the defensive as he thought I was scolding him.  Said John with some level of exasperation, “I’m 65!”  Then backing off, perhaps aware that I still possessed more change, “And I’m disabled.”  Handing John a couple more quarters I asked what he did before he became disabled.  “Carpenter,” he said.  “Trim or framing?” I replied.  “Mostly just general construction,” said John.  By now he trusted my questions as being friendly and after I gave him my last bit of change, off he went.  But he had earned his dollar burger—the change was not forthcoming until eye contact was made and the  transaction instilled with humanity.  I sensed a return of a bit of dignity as he exited looking for his next mark.

Weight = 177.6 lbs

Money Found = $2.53

Best Finds = 1) 2 nickels and six pennies found in a “curb scatter.” 2) A “super find” of two quarters and a dime in a Times Picayune Newspaper stand.  Many found quarters made this amount possible.

Previews of coming comments:  Now that I’m back, in the future look for

·         profiles of people that I meet on the street that engage me with their panhandling;

·         a new motivation technique based on adding and subtracting;

·         change cleaned and deposited in Capital One Bank’s coin machine;

·         amount of money sent to two different charities;

·         and much more.

The MoneyWalker