Monday, March 07, 2005

How To Turn 25 Cents into Ten Thousand Dollars

My stepmom and I had front row seats at a Linda Eder performance Saturday night. During intermission, an audience member approached the stage, left a quarter, then turned and went back to her seat. Minutes later, I noticed a second person do the same. Before long, more quarters joined the first. Then a roll of quarters. Then a rose attached to a baggie of quarters. Finally, cold hard cash started to appear.

Granted this was the Valley, not the oh-so-hip Westside, but it wasn’t the kind of joint where the performer sings for tips. Had I missed a memo?

When Linda returned to the stage, her eyes twinkled as she noticed the offerings. And, here is the story she told:

Sometime back, while doing the run-through before a show, she noticed a quarter in the center of the stage. She meant to pick it up but forgot. That night, during the performance, the glare from the lights hitting the quarter distracted her again. To hell with it, she thought, and bent to pick it up. Only it turned out to be a large shiny nail denoting center stage, and of course it wouldn’t budge. Laughing, she let the audience in on the joke.

Soon, quarters started showing up at every conert, wry reminders from loyal fans. As the sum began to mount, she decided to do something special with the money. A quarter isn’t a lot, she thought, but could go a long way toward helping a homeless dog or cat. Eventually, she settled on a no-kill facility in Manhattan that, among other things, serves as a retirement home for the horses who draw the carriages in Central Park.

At the concert Saturday night, Linda announced that Animal Planet has decided to match her quarters…and that’s how she turned twenty-five cents into ten thousand dollars.


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