$30 poorer

The bus station forground and the old railway station behind.

Before going out Sunday morning I tucked $30's - a 20 and a 10 folded together into four - into my jeans pocket and then dropped $10 in gold coins in after it.   I don't like going anywhere without a bit of money on me.   I went and saw my sister and my mum and checked out my garden dropped David and the luggage at the station dropped the car off home and walked back to the station.  So far so good but by now it was after lunch and I still had 20 minutes before the bus came.  I walked down the main street to the fish and chip shop and bought a drink and a small pie.   It came to $7 so I pulled my change out of my pocket and paid for it.   After arriving by bus at Swan Hill I put my hand in my pocket for my $30 and it was gone.  Damn.  I thought about it for a few minutes and realised that it must have come out when I paid for my pie.  I did think about phoning them up and asking them but then I thought like who is going to hand in found cash.   Certainly was one expensive pie and drink.

It also reminded me of another time when I had lost money but this time it was $500.   A small bundle of 10 $50 notes.   I had been to the bank and withdrawn the money at lunch time.   I cannot even remember what it was that I was going to buy or pay for.  I folded the money in half and put it in my jeans pocket as I was in a bit of a hurry to get back to the truck.   I drove out to Yarra Glen and parked, unpacked and set up.  I remembered about the money and patted my pocket to check that it was still there.   It wasn't.   I raced around to the cabin of the truck and searched it thoroughly.   It had to be there, but it wasn't.   I was walking back to the truck when a friend came by.   You look like you've just lost your best friend.   Not quite that bad I replied but it was $500.  He commiserated with me.   Then something fluttering down the embankment behind him made me frantic.   There blowing around in the wind were several $50 notes.   I raced past him and manically began picking up the notes.   I didn't stop and count them until I was sure I had picked them all up   Then I stopped long enough to count them.  8..9..10.  They were all there. 
Which brings me back to the $30.   You would think that after a scare like that I would be a lot  more careful with my money.   Guess I learn things the  v.hard way.