McGee: Sometimes money can be funny

Have you run into folks who aren't familiar with our country's money? I have.

For instance, a few years ago I stopped in a fast food joint in Lake Charles, La., to get some munchies. I handed the young woman behind the counter three $2 bills.

The young woman looked at me, looked at the money, looked at me then said, "One moment please." She turned and called some guy's name and this dude with a different colored outfit complete with tie comes to the counter.

"I think he just handed me some fake money," she tried whispering to the man. I say "tried whispering" because I could hear her. She showed him the $2 bills.

The man started laughing.

"No, Darlene," he said. "I reckon you've never seen a $2 bill. They're OK."

I thought about this long-ago encounter recently because I happened on another person here on the High Plains who also wasn't familiar with some of our country's money.

It happened when The Lady of the House and I were doing our regular Saturday yard sale-ing. I handed a woman two gold dollars to pay for an item.

"What is this, foreign money?" she asked.

I didn't know what to think. She looked to be an intelligent person. To me she had the air of a business professional.

"Those are gold dollars, they've been around for 10 or 12 years, that's Sacagawea...."

"Saca...what?" she interrupts, "So these are foreign, I'm not taking them."

"Those are U.S. legal tender ma'am," I said.

"I'm not taking them, I don't believe you."

I took them back and presented her with a $20 bill to pay for my stuff.

"Don't you have anything smaller?"

I just smiled.

Later, The Lady of the House told me not to take the rejection of my dollars personally.

"Some people," she said, "Are just...you know..."

Grant McGee is a long-time broadcaster and former truck driver who rides bicycles and likes to talk about his many adventures on the road of life.

Contact him at: [email protected]