For What It's Worth . . .

by Barbara Anne Radtke

Our dad taught us early in life that worth is relative. When our mom would tell us how little a loaf of bread cost when she was a kid, our dad would say: “But look how little people got paid then. It’s all relative.”

Recently I got a lesson about what something is worth from the viewpoint of a just- turned- six-year-old. Rowan knows magic tricks and has a bank that locks. In it, he keeps small objects precious to him. On this day, I bring him two very shiny, gold-looking tokens, made from aluminum, which came in the mail with solicitations from a charity. I thought they would be great for his magic tricks, when he wanted to make a coin appear or disappear. I also bring him a Sacagawea dollar coin for his bank.

Of course, Rowan is drawn to the shiny tokens and not so impressed with the duller colored brass dollar. The shiny tokens are going in the bank.

His grandfather Bill jumps in. “Put out your hands and close your eyes,” he says to Rowan. Bill puts a token in one hand, the dollar coin in the other. “Which one feels heavier?” he asks. Rowan is good at which one is heavier. He picks the dollar coin. Bill says, “Sometimes with metal, if it is heavier it is worth more.” Rowan is listening, but looks unconvinced.

I pull a quarter, a nickel, a dime, and a penny from my change purse and we examine them alongside the Sacagawea coin. Bill says, “Let’s add the value of these four other coins together.” We count 41 cents. “This Sacagawea coin is worth 100 cents,” he tells Rowan. Rowan understands, but seems unimpressed. Bill puts it into context. The Sacagawea coin is worth doing two chores. This makes an impression. Rowan is beginning to sense the coin’s value.

As we look more closely at all the coins, we note that the quarter, the nickel, the dime, and the penny all have men’s faces on them. Rowan can name George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. We all need to look up who is on the dime. We note that Sacagawea is a woman and I tell him how she was a guide for explorers. This part of the discussion seems flat until Bill says: “Look, four men (on these coins) are not worth as much as one woman (on this coin).” Rowan looks up. Bill looks at me and winks. “Sometimes it’s like that in life, too!”

Of course, our dad was right: worth is relative. Except for something like this story, then the value is priceless.

Response by Kathy Hendricks

What a wonderful story, Barbara. Rowan may be on his way to becoming an investment broker – or a philosopher! Aren’t we all, like Rowan, generally attracted to the shiny object rather than the dull one with greater value? In doing so, we are likely to pass up a treasure in the rough.

I love how you drew attention to the four men on the coins versus the portrayal of a woman on the one of greatest value. Sacagawea’s worth to those explorers was inestimable. How would they have found their way without her guidance, expertise, and wisdom? Even so, the names of Lewis and Clark all too often rise above hers even though their expedition would have flopped without her. It’s also noteworthy to recall that she was only sixteen when she undertook this mission.

I only recently learned about the work of Judith Love Cohen – a multi-talented woman who helped design the system that rescued the Apollo 13 astronauts. She phoned in a solution to NASA while in labor with her son, the comedian Jack Black. Another woman of great worth!

I hope readers will share their own experiences and lessons learned about seeking value in what might otherwise remain hidden.