What does a Canadian do with unusual American currency?

I’ve posed a lot of odd questions to myself as I dig through the nooks and crannies of my accumulation, but this one is a stumper. I have 5 JFK half dollars, a Susan B Anthony dollar and a few other random bits that are certainly not going to fly in a soda machine on my next trip south.

Ironically I’m running short of time for this week’s entry because I got lost sorting through the 900 Things. Tonight’s surprise project was that a pile of trading card game cards turned out to have some value. The game was Illuminati: New World order and it turns out the 150 or so uncommon and rare cards that have sat on my shelf undisturbed for closing on two decades are probably worth in a hundred bucks or so. An hour of sorting and the common cards are off to the recycling while the rest will go on Ebay in the next run.

The set of Sub-Genius cards also probably has a few dollars in it. I am/was in the Church of theSub-Genius. They predicted the end of the world in July 1998. I went and it was a good time. Part of my misspent youth. The only real fun part of being a conspiracy nut (now lapsed). I look at these Illuminati cards and I see so many crazy ideas and wild theories made concrete in a comedy game. I wish I had been funnier during that time. Or at least had been funny on purpose.

Political material is taking a beating in this purge. Most of my political books went, with only my collection of Bob Woodward books surviving the purge. That era feels over for me. I still have an interest, but all of such books are either dated or readily available in various formats. No reason to take up space in a more carefully curated collection.

Gifts

Christmas is coming up and as you may have noticed in my original rules I am allowed to accept presents. That said, I still put mostly clothes and more practical objects on my Christmas list for my wifey. Today she got me new shoes, though I’m pretty sure she spent time yesterday searching for some elusive James Bond blu-rays for me.

I am also giving some things away that are in the accumulation. One went in the mail this week as a surprise for someone, another will go to a niece who wants to be a photographer. We will see what else leaves this way over the next months.

As I go through this process it is changing the way I look at giving presents. As I buy presents I wonder if I’m giving a gift or cursing someone with a trinket that will weigh them down as so many of these things have done to me (not gifts, of course, they are always wonderful. Honest).

I have mostly moved to buying fancy chocolates for most of my list. And I give small, usually disposable, presents to my podcast co-hosts as a thank you for the wonderful treat it is to get together with my pals once a week to talk about comics and other nonsense.

Of course the best present that can be given is that of an experience. Perhaps this time next year I will resolve to go with gift certificates and such that express a hope that my loved ones will think of me fondly when seeing a movie or visiting the zoo. For now, comics and candy are the way to go.