Author Sherry M. Joiner
A friend once asked me, “What would you do if you found a lucky penny on the street? Would you pick it up, brush it off and put it in your corduroy jacket pocket? Or would you use it as change to help you to buy a twinkie in a store with your nickel, other pennies and quarter? Would you place it between the many sheets of your coin collector’s book and keep it there forever in its special slot? Or would you leave it on the street for someone else to share the luck with you. Maybe you would save it as a good omen to change yourself. What would you do?
Later, I found that lucky penny he was talking about. It didn’t come from the store or from a copper factory or US mint. It came to me in the form of a black and white striped Zebra Swallowtail butterfly. I was heading to turn in my paper work at NAMI, and I spotted a Zebra Swallowtail lying on ground near where I parked my car in the parking garage. It flapped one wing and died. I thought should I pick it up? I must save it from getting run over. Hanging a Kleenex over its soft delicate body, I brought it carefully to the ledge above the floor of the structure and left it there.
When I came home I looked up “Butterflies” on the Internet. There was an article about the Black Witch Moth (Butterfly of Death.) They were more like brown with zig zag lines. That wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. The females of that species had a white strip midway along its wing. I had a hard time believing that if one flew over me I would lose all of my hair as the article stated.
I looked up black and white striped Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly. Their official state was Tennessee. They can be found in most US states. Oregon has swallowtails that are yellow in nature. Where it came from, I do not know. It could have been a Zebra butterfly from the Gulf States with a curved tail.
Ever since I placed the butterfly on the ledge in the parking garage I have had good luck. I am making more connections with people and my experiences have become richer. I had the opportunity to thumb through photo albums of my great niece, great nephew, and grandkids with my 89 year old aunt in Seaside and swim with her last week. We also journeyed down a beach trail together. This Saturday my grandson graduates from high school and things just keep getting better and better.
So now I am sharing and passing the luck onto you.
Arts and Writing by Sherry 