Make Mine Mike

HUNDRED DOLLAR WEEKEND

On Friday night, Adelphia and I rode our bikes down to the First Friday series they have at Abbot Kinney where they keep the stores open late, play music and serve drinks. At one store, my fiancee spotted on the floor -- a $100 bill. I looked around, furtively picked it up and stashed it away.

Adelphia felt bad. We just got found money, a free C-note, and she felt bad.

Yes, I agreed, if someone lost that cash, they'd be upset. But I hung around in the store and looked to see if anyone was searching for anything, if anyone seemed to notice they were missing the money. Nope. I wasn't about to shout, "Anyone lose a hundred bucks?" or return it to lost & found. I guessed that whoever lost it had plenty of Benjamins, and could afford to be so careless. For us, it was a blessing.

To Adelphia, this issue runs deeper. Her father won the state lottery, and within the same year, passed away. Two freak events, but they're not related. As someone who's had two tragic events happen (Mom's stroke, Dad's death) almost exactly a year from each other, I know that it's just a coincidence.

Still, she worries about some weird karmic balance. Like, this good fortune for us will be counteracted with something negative. I think she's seen too many Twilight Zones.

Maybe I should've donated the money to a good cause, but I like to believe using it to supporting local businesses is a win-win situation. So we had a nice meal at her favorite Hollywood hangout the next night, bought ice cream at Mashti Malone's, and used whatever $ was leftover on dinner in Santa Monica tonight.

Contrary to Adelphia's concerns, the bill wasn't counterfeit, and the food was delicious. Oh, and I still have some Mashti's left in the freezer for later on. If I get ptomaine poisoning, I'll rescind this entire post.