To Whom It May Concern

Does This Make Any Cents?

I have a coin collection. I suppose this could be one of those little 'things you didn't know about fraNk' bits, but I think a few of you know this. My coin collection is pretty pathetic. Basically it consists of a penny (or three, depending on the mint it was made at) from every year from 1948 on, I have two from 1943, and some others. Forgive me though, I don't have it in front of me so I can't tell you exactly what I have.

While I was creating my little collection, that I am sure is meaningless by true coin collecting standards, is that I would find myself looking at the year on the coin, and if that year happened be 'post fraNk birth' I try and remember what I was doing during that particular year, what grade I was in, where I was at in my life. I sometimes wonder if anyone else does that? It probably seems a little corny and sentimental but I guess that's me.

What I find to be funny is how, following my college graduation (yes folks, I am edumakated), it is more difficult to pinpoint my activities within the year in question. I think that's because you have a map all the way up through gradeschool and into college, you can correlate your grade to that particular year in question for memory purposes.

After that, it gets rather fuzzy. Sure you might have a job, you might get married, but how to keep track of what you were doing as the years go by becomes fuzzy at best. Hell, everyone has old relatives that talk about how awful the 'storm of 67' was' when you know damn well they wouldn't know if it was 67' or 97', that's all part of getting older I think.

There are certain points, times in one's life where events create a situation in which you will always look back upon your life differently: my life before this happened, and my life afterwards. I have had this happen twice before in my life. I don't believe this will happen again.

Let me put it this way, I certainly hope it doesn't happen again, considering the requirements for such a situation to occur are as follows: an unexpected event(s) as such that pushes your emotions into a near shutdown state due to extreme stress. They are also the times that put our resolve to the test, and in which we become quite suddenly 'spiritual'. There is good that comes from this, although it takes quite a bit of time to see it. As Garth would put it "Some of God's greatest gifts, are unanswered prayers"