My mother always told me to leave a $5 in your winter coat pocket come March, so that when those first cold winds of late October rolled around, there'd be a nice surprise waiting for you the first time you wore the coat. Some years, I'd accidentally leave more than that, and find a $20. You think that was a dominant surprise to discover on a crisp autumn morning? You bet it was.
This year, when I took my coat of the closet during the second week of October on an unseasonably cold morning, I discovered no money. It got warm early last year, and the last time I wore my coat was March 20. You remember March 20, don't you?
There wasn't the traditional 5-spot in the coat this year. Because the last time I wore my coat was the night Miami beat Creighton on a phantom-foul call with 2.6 seconds left, the night Guillermo Diaz hit two free throws to go ahead 53-52, the night Dana Altman chased the referees out of the building as boos rained down. The night I spent that $5 on a pitcher of PBR with some buddies as we tried to discern what we'd just seen.
Continue reading Finding $5 In Your Winter Coat.
