This Run Brought to You by the Federal Reserve and the Letter's B and D.

Today I literally ran around Denver looking for money. No, not the $20 bill you dropped outside the bar last night in your drunkenness, nor a cash paying job. I was looking for cash money shredded into tiny little bits and packs of fake cash, and since it is 69 degrees today, I decided to run and get me some of that Vitamin D doctors keep telling us we need even thought they are not sure why. I began by fighting the wind going north along 18th Street toward Unions Station, over the bridge to Confluence Park. Low and behold the Union Station B-cycle station was open and full of bikes!! Yay B-cycle! But I kept running. I fought the wind going south along the Cherry Creek Trail to the Denver Mint. The Denver Mint, for you who don't know, is one of the many off-white stone buildings behind the City and County Building that all look alike. It is the one building that has nothing to do with the Judiciary Branch of State or Local government. (Among the official buildings was an empty B-cycle station. Yay B-Cycle!) The very pretty Denver Mint building is surrounded by a tall metal spiked fence and trailers. Yes, doublewide trailers like Clear Creekers used to go to classes in and somewhere someone's cousin Billy Bob resides in. One such trailer houses the Mint Gift Shop, and outside are very nice security guards to assure guests that yes that is the 10-year-old gift shop. Inside the Denver Mint Gift Shop are the coins you see on TV commemorating just about everything, and a few that are real money too, but no cash dollars, whole or otherwise.

So, at the suggestion of the Mint customer service ladies, I ran off to the Federal Reserve (yes, fighting the wind). The reserve building is the official looking building set back off the 16th Street Mall between Champa and Arapahoe. The entrance is on Champa by the noise-art sidewalk that moos at you. This building feels much more like a federal building (there are no trailers), also surrounded by a tall spiky metal fence in the entrance has security guards in an enclosed guard office next to a metal detector and conveyer-belt x-ray machine. The guards happily offered to let me in for a self-guided tour of the "museum," but alas I didn't not have my ID because I was on a run. However, the guards did confirm the rumor that our very own Kansas Federal Reserve Denver Branch gives away free money to anyone who asks. I got three bags full! (Yes it was shredded and completely worthless, but still very cool.) The guards also suggested I make an appointment for a tour because then you can see where the money gets counted! It's now on my list of things to do in Denver.

Anyway, having run roughly four miles and having my hands full of money I decided to walk the rest of the way home, stopping in souvenir shops here and there looking for packs of fake money, to no avail. Ironically I almost crossed the street in front of, to be killed by, an armored cash truck!

So though I am sure you have been completely entertained by my little story, you might be wondering why I ran all over Denver looking for money that is not going to pay the bills. We're having a Michael Douglass Wall Street Party. Invitation only, unless your stock portfolio is big enough.