I dropped by Wellesley Free Library on Friday to meet our summer intern and got an unexpected bonus: a $2 bill was just sitting there on the entryway rug.
Sure, it looked as phony as… a $2 bill. But I snapped up the legal tender just in case.
I wondered whether someone had been using it as a book mark. Or maybe it was somebody’s good luck omen. Did it escape from the Library of Things? Had the library hatched a new marketing scheme to attract candidates for its Board of Trustees opening?
I then looked up and chased down an adult and child who had just walked through the lobby. I asked if they’d lost a $2 bill, but no, it wasn’t theirs.
So I pocketed the money for the moment.
I’d happened to leave my phone in Mrs. Swellesley’s car. So when I met our intern, Zoe, I immediately gave her an assignment. I tossed the bill back onto the rug where I found it and asked her to take a photo. So yes, what you see below is a re-enactment (truth in journalism!).
My point to Zoe was: “You never know when you might come across content.” Especially in summer in Wellesley, when… things… slow… down.
I mean, it’s just not every day you come across a bill bearing the face of Thomas Jefferson on the front and an image of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on the back.
After Zoe and I met, I stopped by the circulation desk and told the person behind it that I had the weird question of the day: “Has anyone come looking for a $2 bill?” Nope, so I kept the money.
But that $2 bill was burning a hole in my pocket, especially after Mrs. Swellesley suggested stopping by Truly’s.
We walked over and bought our ice cream. As I pulled out my wallet, I told the young woman behind the counter that I’d just found a $2 bill. She said her Dad gave her a $2 bill one time and that she’s held onto it.
At that point, I dropped the $2 bill into the tip jar and we were off to enjoy our treat.
