Come Just As You Are

How many of you have had the frustrating experience of depositing a coin in a public telephone slot and losing it. Author Norman Cousins, a true believer in the healing power of humor, tells of a “lost coin” episode in his life:

I went into the telephone booth to call my office. I put a quarter in the slot and dialed the number, but nothing happened. I pressed the “coin return” lever. Nothing happened. Then I heard a voice say, “Deposit twenty five cents please.” It was a recording. I put in another quarter, got a live operator and asked her to return my lost quarter. She said, “Sir, if you will give me your name and address, I’ll be glad to mail it to you.” It seemed absurd that the telephone company would spend twenty-nine cents in postage, to say nothing of personnel expense, just to refund a quarter to me — and I told her so. I pressed the “coin return” lever…