Never Remove the Cornerstone is 'in publishing!'

The latest cover idea for 'Never Remove the Cornerstone' is in the hands of the publishers!  I expect that the first printing will be available at the end of October 2018!

More of “So what is the deal with the two-dollar bill?”

Here are some of the replies I received when I asked:  “What do you know about the two-dollar bill?

The replies are in order of frequency beginning with the highest number of same or similar answers first and in descending order to the least answers.

•          “It’s lucky!”  (Twenty-seven out of one-hundred different respondents surveyed insisted that      owning a two-dollar bill brings ‘good luck’).  Note:  Only one respondent suggested that the “two dollar bill is unlucky.”
•          “They’re rare!”  (Twenty subjects indicated that the two-dollar bill is rare)
•          “I got mine as a congratulatory gift  (“the day of my confirmation”, 
•          “I use them as bookmarks!”
•          “They don’t print them anymore!” (“They stopped circulation years ago!”)  -- Not true.
•          “The government paid some of the military in two-dollar bills up through 1965!”
•          Two individuals suggested:   “There is a black man on the two-dollar bill!”* -- Not true.
•          Two dollar bills were used by individuals who gambled—$2 was the single bet unit at most (horse) race tracks.
•          Two dollars was the ‘going rate’ for a prostitute in years gone by.

·       In 2005, a man in Baltimore, Maryland, was jailed for attempting to use $2 bills to pay a car stereo installation fee that Best Buy originally agreed to waive in the first place.  See http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2005-03-08/news/0503080089_1_bolesta-pole-baltimore-county

In 2016, a 13-year-old girl in Texas was detained by police at Fort Bend Independent School District's Christa McAuliffe Middle School and prevented from eating lunch that day for attempting to use a $2 bill to pay for chicken nuggets in the school cafeteria.  See http://reason.com/blog/2016/05/04/little-girl-detained-by-police-after-try and https://abc13.com/news/lunchroom-lunacy-isd-cops-investigate-fake-money/1314203/

In 1989, Geneva Steel, an integrated steel mill, which operated in Utah until November 2001, paid employee bonuses with $2 bills. As the volume of bills flowed through town, the stunt demonstrated the plant’s economic importance.

I commented that the two-dollar bill isn’t accepted in most vending machines one day…

...later that day, one of my economics teachers, Marc DeCourcy, brought back evidence of one vending machine, located in Padernales Falls State Park, Texas, which accepts $2 bills.  Thanks much 'Mr. D,' you're the best!

*My friend, Thomas helped solve the mystery of the ‘alleged’ black man on the two-dollar bill.  In the article—The Truth About the Only Black Man On The Back Of The $2 Bill, the man in question is the Senator from Maryland, John Hanson, served as President of the Continental Congress during the American Revolution.

http://theweeklychallenger.com/the-truth-about-the-only-black-man-on-the-back-of-the-2-bill/

So what is the Deal with the Two-Dollar Bill?

So what is the deal with the two-dollar bill? You do realize that I 'Googled' the thing, right? I even checked with Jean B., my 'friend'—what possessed me to call that guy?  Anyhoo, I did find an article online titled: " The Curious Case of the $2 Bill".

Okay, I know that you are wondering; what in the 'Sam Hill' is he squawking about now?

Well, shortly after my father ‘transitioned’ (Trish and I use this term instead of ‘passed’) this year, my siblings and me were faced with the task of cleaning out his storage shed. The small shed, not more than seven feet by seven feet, held his lawn mower, string trimmers and various and sundry tools--plus stuff that was obviously car parts, formerly belonging to my brother, Ben's old Ford Pinto. Yeah, we all had those ridiculous Pintos back in the day! On the lone shelf, right in front of us, in full view from the open she'd door, was a small plastic file box. On top of that container, was an open billfold, probably placed there by our father the last time he mowed his grass, which we surmised was some eight years earlier.

I called my discovery of that wallet to Ben and passed it to him for inspection. Dad's drivers license and some expired credit cards were among the items in the wallet, and, to both Ben and my surprise, tucked in the paper currency compartment was fourteen, crisp two-dollar bills!

Now, my reaction to this small treasure was a bit more dramatic--I blurted: "What the hell, man?" Ben calmly replied, that's the kind of thing dad would do.

Danny and Dot are two of the finest people created in this universe for which my wife, Janice and I met when we first moved to Georgia more than twenty-eight years ago!  Dot and Danny were among the first of our friends we informed, as we have all grieved the loss of parents together over the years.  We have been a comfort to each otheer in those very difficult times.  Dot texted: “You sincerely have our condolences.  If your father is anything like you, he is a very good person and very smart.  May God bless you and yours for having a father with a talent to be proud of.”

You see Tiffany, a person for whom I have the utmost respect, thought that my dad must be smart—implied in that statement was that I am smart!  Dot has always said that of me—for years!  “Byron you’re a very smart person”, she would say.  A few kind words can ‘set’ a person for life!

You see, my friend Dot had sent me a lovely sympathy card in early May that read: 

      

Tucked in a slot behind those words was an unfolded two-dollar bill!

Tell you how smart I am; when Ben counted fourteen two-dollar bills from that billfold, I reasoned immediately that twenty-eight dollars won’t divide equally by five (of my father’s children).  Nevertheless, I was stuck on why did dad have those two-dollar bills anyway?  And moreover, that was all there was in that billfold—no other currency!

   

On the flight back home that Friday after cleaning my father’s shed, it hit me—I had my third two-dollar bill for more than a month before we discovered the twenty-eight dollars’ worth of two dollar bills!

If two-dollar bills are not such a big deal, then riddle me this, why do they keep all of the two-dollar bills in a vault at Delta Community Credit in my city?  I asked Jade, my Delta Community Credit representative today and her story is:  I got my two two-dollar bills from my church and Jamaica—I keep them for good luck!

So do I, Jade!

Send me your stories and comments about ‘Two Dollar Bills’ via email to: byron.m.coleman@gmail.com

I will post the best ones, providing they aren’t ‘distasteful.'

#Cornerstone

#Cornerstone

If you found this site, then you are on the right track to discover a fascinating way of celebrating family.

Never Remove the Cornerstone is the title of an intriguing odyssey--a literal ten-year 'journey' initiated by an interview of a very wise, but curious man who calls himself 'Jules'.

Publication of the book is forthcoming, targeted for end of summer 2018 and is currently in the final phases of editing.

'Cornerstone' is a must-read for anyone trying to find out 'how we get here'--a personal application of the spacetime concept in resulting in "the greatest love of all".

Jules encourages the searching for a hero and in the process, introduces us to 'Big Luke' and 'Tine' (pronounced 'Teen') The idea being, we all know and love someone like Big Luke and Tine--and they play a major role in our individual journeys. Oh, by the way, all of us have a Jules too!

Tiffany Haddish and me aren't the only two people who had to find out!

Cornerstone is coming soon!

B

P.S.  If you have the 'button', hold on to it!  If you don't, you might try to get one!  They will be very valuable!

Big Luke's Coming to Town!

The book is now being edited!

Expect the first editions to publish by the third quarter of 2018!

#Cornerstone