The US Mint is issuing new nickels this year to commemorate the Lewis and Clark expedition. Neat. I think the Mint ought to issue special coins more often. Special coins make a profit, and they promote awareness of various things. I have several Australian coins that were special and that's why I kept them.

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Today is the day of the second major spring event that always flooded the news in my childhood. The first was the Kentucky Derby, which we always heard about but never went to see. Then on Memorial Day weekend, the Indianapolis 500 ran. When I was a kid, I always used to root for Mario Andretti because I loved his exotic name. We didn't have names like that, except for the street named Pestalozzi--but that doesn't really count, since it got pronounced "Petsaletsy" by nearly everyone I knew.

I look at the roster, and see A.J. Foyt IV, who is only 19, and Al Unser, Jr, who has started this race 16 times. I have watched A.J. Foyt and Al Unser race, although only on TV. There's no Andretti, though, but there's a scot named Dario Franchitti...and look at that. He's driving for Andretti Green Racing. Guess he's the one I'll root for today.