The Cost of Wishing...

"What do you think the going rate for a wish is?"

"What?"

"You know, the cost of a wish. Like it used to be a penny, right? People would go to the Wishing Well or the fountain in the square and toss in a penny and make a wish. What do you think wishes cost now? It can't still be a penny."

"Does anyone even carry any change anymore?"

"Oh yeah, I hadn't even thought of that. Who has coins instead of credit cards? I mean maybe some bills but you always just leave the coins behind right? Like we have a change jar at home that we toss our coins into and it used to be like every six months or so we would take it to the bank and turn it all in. I can't even remember the last time we did that."

"So maybe the coin operated wish system is out of business."

"That makes me kind of sad. What a terrible thing to lose."

"Not for the guy that owns the well."

"What?"

"Whoever owned the well that people decided was the Wishing Well. Have you ever tasted a penny? They are nasty. Now imagine a hundred of them in your drinking water. Gross. I would think that getting away from coin based wishes probably was a relief for them."

"Well, except they probably went on city water long before the coins stopped coming. Who gets their water from a well anymore?"

"True."

"And maybe they liked the flavor. Or it gave them some sort of health benefit, right? Like isn't copper one of those things that people take for alternative health shit? What if that's the way the wishing well thing even started? People were tossing pennies into the well and the people that owned the well kept getting healthier and healthier so everyone kept making wishes."

"Maybe. Except I think you are supposed to wear copper for the benefit, not eat it. And how would you wishing Jenny would date you work out to Farmer Brown never getting sick? What would the wish math be there?"

"People would just assume that Farmer Brown was wishing for good health right?"

"Farmers wish for rain."

"Not all farmers wish for rain."

"All farmers wish for rain. It's like a farming absolute. Farmers wish for rain. You need rain."

"Fine. You're the farmer expert now. But maybe other people didn't know this and just assumed he was wishing for health?"

"Farmer Brown is a woman. Don't be sexist."

"Oh sorry...wait a second! You made Farmer Brown up. Farmer Brown doesn't even exist!"

"Still..."

"Fine, she was wishing for health. Is that better?"

"I guess..."

"You're impossible."

"Right? It's like one of my best traits!"

"Anyway...what was the original point I was trying to make?"

"How much does a wish cost now."

"Oh right! So what do you think? If you had to guess."

"I think they are still a penny."

"What? With inflation and everything?"

"Sure. I don't think it's the value of the coin, I think it's the sincerity of the wish. There are free wish avenues after all."

"What?"

"Birthday candles, shooting stars, dandelions, eyelashes..."

"Oh yeah. That's true. All of those are free."

"So I think the going rate is whatever coin you have in your pocket matched to a sincere wish and the belief that it will come true. If you have all of that then your wish is granted. Or if you have two out of three for the free wish areas."

"Sincere wish and belief. So when I was wishing to be an astronaut was I not sincere or was it that I didn't believe it would come true?"

"You have to ask yourself that question. I got my pony. So...."

"You did not!"

"I did. It was a doll, but it was a pony. My fault for not being more specific. And Gary kissed me in third grade when I did the eyelash wish. So I'm pretty sure I've got the wishing thing nailed. Though I probably shouldn't have been wishing for kisses in third grade."

"Maybe not. When was the last time you made a wish?"

"Gosh, it's been awhile. I don't even know what I would wish for anymore. What about you?"

"Maybe a few birthdays ago, the last time I got candles someplace. I think I wished that nobody would sing. They sang anyway."

"Because you didn't really believe they wouldn't."

"True. You really do have this wishing thing nailed."

"I do."

"So...want to go get some pennies and find a fountain?"