Now that pennies are gone, these things need to go too!

There are not too many things I agree with Donald Trump on (the list is incredibly short), but when he decided to declare the end of the almighty copper penny — I thought to myself — well, it is about time!

A long time coming, in fact, but better now than never.

So… with our good copper friend biting the dust and heading to Never-Never Land, I thought there might be a few other things that, while we are at it, we could get rid of, or that we just don’t see anymore.

Such as...

Daily Mail Delivery! Note, I state “daily” here, not the complete elimination. But do we really need a mailman stopping by our house every day to deliver “the mail”? Most of it is advertisement garbage anyway. If the mail came once or twice a week, would anyone really mind? Me thinks not.

Checkbooks: I still write checks, but I know I am sadly a dying breed. The checkbook is clearly on the endangered paper species list, as Venmo, Zelle and other apps I don’t yet use seem to have completely taken over.

Boarding Passes on Airplanes: It has almost got to the point now where it is a source of embarrassment for people to present the paper ticket when boarding the plane. People stare, people look at you kind of funny, and if you are under the age of 70 and still use these paper tickets, you really get some dirty looks! Instead, now, it is all about the QR code with ticket information that is stored safely into your cellphone on the wallet app.

Wallets: Speaking of wallets… how much longer till those things become obsolete? Seems like all of our identification and credit cards are rapidly going the way of high tech. Nowadays, the iPhone has it all stored away safely, and fingerprints or facial recognition will probably be the new version of the current driver’s license.

Blind Dates: Rapidly becoming a thing of the past. The truly “blind” date has just about completely been erased from the auspices of today’s social interaction. Oh, the joy and fun (?) of the old days when you would knock on the door or meet at the coffee shop and you had no idea what the other person actually looked like. The only thing you knew was that your friend, or your mom or your aunt said, “You have to meet her, she has such a good personality.” These days? You go out on a first date, and thanks to the wonders of social media you now know not just what she looks like — but her friends, hobbies, work background, previous relationships, etc. Takes all the suspense out of the “blind date,” that is for sure.

Politicians Serving More Than Two Terms: This one falls under the list of “should become extinct.” Just like pennies, can we finally get rid of multi-term politicians who stay on till they have clearly aged out? Make it a two-term max, and it will become more of a job of service than a long-time career. That would be a win-win for all of us.

Finally… while we are at it — let’s get rid of all change! Why stop at the penny? Make it a full end-to-end clearinghouse sweep and get rid of nickels, dimes and quarters while we’re at it. They can all go in the old yesterday conveyor belt and be shipped out to pasture. Would anyone really miss having some extra “change” in their pockets?

Other miscellaneous items on their way out? How about plastic grocery bags, fax machines, tennis racquets (pickleball, anyone?), slapstick comedies (when was the last one, Happy Gilmore?), butterflies, cursive writing and diving boards (water parks are all about the water slide now).

So goodbye and farewell, dear penny. Yes, you overstayed your welcome, but still, we have only good memories.

Only problem is... what do we throw into the wishing well now? And if we can’t decide between two things, what do we flip to help us make a decision?