Jardine: Someone got sneaky at estate sale

From the e-mails and voice mails:

FUNNY MONEY -- Last month, Chris Hanson of Spokane, Wash., came to Modesto to handle the estate sale of her deceased aunt's belongings. Juanita "DeDe" Goodwill died in July.

Hanson recruited the help of Goodwill's neighbor, Ruby Hansen (different spelling, no relation). As they sorted through the stuff, Chris told Ruby she wanted to pay her for her efforts. That wasn't necessary, Ruby said. But Chris insisted, and handed her a Civil War-era Confederate States of America $100 bill from Goodwill's belongings. Turned out it was a replica -- hardly evidence of the South rising again. They all got a good laugh out of it.

When the two-day sale ended, Chris really did reward Ruby by giving her one of the two $100 bills (U.S.) that they took in during the sale. Something didn't feel right about it, Ruby said. And when she tried to pay for something with it, a store clerk used a felt detection marker on it. The mark came up black, meaning the $100 bill was bogus. She took it to her bank, which is sending it to the U.S. Treasury Department for inspection.

"I called (Chris) and said, 'Thanks a lot. You're bound and determined to get me into trouble,' " Ruby said.

That was when Chris Hanson learned the bill was counterfeit and took the other $100 to her bank for inspection. It, too, was phony.

"People having yard sales -- we're not experts (on currency)," Chris said. "They're a great place to get rid of cash like that. Both came on the first day of the sale, early in the morning."

The moral of the story?

"Tell people doing yard sales to watch it," she said. "If (customers) try to give you $100 bills, tell them to go get change."

Preferably, the legitimate stuff.

COMMON DENOMINATOR -- Dave Boring, owner of Never Boring Design, knew several other current or former Modesto business owners for several years before realizing they all shared an Oct. 23 birthday. So, three years ago, they began meeting to celebrate. The group has grown to 10, its members being Boring, Norm Porges (Prime Shine Express), Donna David (MOCSE Credit Union), Gretchen Peek (Clayton's), Stan Azevedo (formerly of the Tree Frog Tavern), Frank Lacy (formerly of Michelle Lacy Interiors), Modesto Mayor Jim Ridenour, Colleen Wallace Myrtakis (State Farm), Kim Westphal (Valley Glass) and Sandi Cain. They even created a logo for the group. This year, they'll reunite Oct. 16 at Del Rio Country Club.

THE POLITICS OF SCOUTING -- The Girl Scouts of America are supposed to be a neutral, nonpolitical organization. That didn't come through in the fall edition of a teen magazine published by the Rancho Cordova-based Girl Scouts Heart of Central California and received by valley scouts.

A graphic was supposed to explain the differences between the Republican and Democratic parties, and their respective candidates, Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama. A Girl Scouts official told me the chart was created by a teen intern, one who added her own slant. She listed McCain's style as "Conservative (Traditional)" which is accurate. But she listed Obama's as "Liberal (Radical)." Radical? Aren't there radical elements within both parties? The Democrats have members that are hard to the left, but they also have conservative Blue Dogs. And didn't McCain have to sell the hard right-wing Republicans -- some of them pretty radical in their own right -- that he's conservative enough?

Then, the intern compared "What to expect if this party wins the 2008 election," claiming both plan to end the Iraq war. McCain has criticized Obama for his plans to end the war quickly, claiming he's naive. Obama has blasted McCain for claiming the United States could maintain a presence for the next 100 years.