“A Penny for Your Thoughts” and Here Are Some of Mine

“In its heyday, the penny had immense cultural impact. It was the going rate for thoughts. It was a symbol of frugality, saved and/or earned. It could sometimes be pretty, and other times arrive from heaven. And how many ideas would never have come to light without a penny dropping?” (Victor Mather, The New York Times eulogy on the penny) To this I add the once frequent comment of a teacher, “Why, you are as bright as a shiny, new penny.” 

I am lamenting the retirement of the penny which served us well for over 200 years, but I understand the reason: it costs 4 cents to make a one cent penny! However, anyone my age loved having a few pennies for 3 cent candy like waxed teeth with juice in them, or tootsie rolls for a penny. As a teenager, you would put a penny in your loafer shoes—at the top over the arch where a place was reserved for the inserted penny. This meant you would have good luck wherever you walked, and you simply had to wear those loafers to every sock-hop dance.

I have been thinking of the blessing of the penny as I say goodbye to it—ever so remorsefully. Once during a night when a very challenging storm burst as my friend and I were driving to a polka dance in Pennsylvania, she noticed she needed gas. The service station man worked the gas pump then. The rain mercilessly pounded us, and the total came to something which required a penny. He waited as we fumbled in our purses. We had the total sans the needed penny. Let’s say it was $10.51. (We are talking years before credit cards.) Neither of us could find a penny but he waited, shivering in the rain until finally my friend spotted the shiny little coin on the floor next to her accelerator. It must have dropped out of a purse as we rummaged to find but this service man was not about to give us a pass on a penny! Goodbye penny. Everyone loved you.

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Some 57 women are descending from a spiritual high having made a retreat this past weekend at our Jesuit Spirituality Center. The remarkable thing about these women is that they have found the life-saving community of Alcoholics Anonymous. Many are friends of mine, but some are new to AA; some have been OK over 30 years, others for only a few months. All have gripping stories of death-defying grace, of losing their careers, their ‘that’s it’ marriages, and in the saddest cases, their children. Along with two other spiritual counselors, I am privileged to listen to these women, and to attempt to provide the assurance that God does care for them and love them no matter what they have done in the past. They plan a spiritual course with us and many return to discuss their successes. We do these retreats twice a year and I, along with my fellow counselors, are amazed to witness how grace works in broken souls. Our traditional healing service is as palpable as if we are there with Him as he anoints the lame and the blind, and the leprous in His ministry. All of this melts into the river of forgiveness at the feet of these women as it did when Jesus healed the broken before Him. 

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Finally, I am devoted to observing the publishing industry. This might stem from my background of journalism and literature where academic research requires such investigations. Plus, I have an insatiable appetite for information. But publishing reputable books is a measure of one’s culture; it’s the dipstick that reads the level of fuel feeding our national engine’s heart and intellect. I have noticed lately that the names of authors offer an exciting change; diversity is not only acceptable but almost par for the course. For instance, the coveted National Book Award in fiction was given to Rabih Alameddine; the International Booker Prize in fiction went to Benn Mushtag and Deepa Bhasti. Other authors successfully publishing are: Juhea Kim, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Omar El Akkad, to name only a few. This is exciting because it broadens our Western World hubris; it rattles our entrenched thinking and helps us to see the value, talent, perspective of others as they travel the same universe albeit in a different way than we do.

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These writers have learned that writing in English is one way to make inroads to the Western World, a way to offer the speech they may have been denied in their own countries or their own history. Still, several are American born citizens from immigrant parents whose stories need to be appreciated as part of the landscape of our country. The French philosopher and writer, Albert Camus, said, “The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” It appears this is the mission of these writers. We should join them by reading their work.

Reflection

Publishing is an extremely challenging industry based on profit over message. Still, there is a growing number of courageous writers who submit work with the hopes of sharing it with readers and there is a growing number of privately owned publishers willing to sponsor such writers, to give their insights and gifts a chance to advance the knowledge of readers and expand their hearts to acceptance of the cultures reflected in their writing. A fellow writer shared with me a quote she had read but did not know the source: “If you are a writer, it is a sin not to write.” Pretty strong advice, I’d say. But true. One cannot withhold what one knows, especially as it carries deep messages of faith, love, and commitment which others can apply to their lives as well. 

Think about writing for yourself: in a journal or in simple letters to friends and family. Bring your soul to paper. It invites a spirit of catharsis while faith seeps through the pen. It is a form of prayer sometimes fresh and insightful, sometimes dry as a bail of hay in the summer sun. But do it. Write your inspirations; they come from the Holy Spirit; it could be a sin to ignore them.

May God bless all of you—my Anonymous Angels and my dear readers. (Get ready for winter. It’s not that bad!)