Years ago I bought a denim jacket at a rummage sale (where else?) for five bucks. A good habit of emptying pockets before throwing items in the washer led me to the enjoyable discovery of a five-dollar bill in a compartment on the inside. Bonus! I was tickled to death!Now that jacket is long gone and I don’t remember anything about the sale itself, but the delight of that simple surprise lingers like the smell of sqat (formerly known as manure) on our farm on a warm summer’s night.I believe that every life is full of hidden treasure, and our quest while here on earth is to find it. That does not mean that I go through life with my nose to the ground searching for every quarter ever dropped; it’s not about the booty. It’s about the treasure hunt itself. Little gives me more delight than an unexpected surprise or an out-of-the-blue bargain. The trick is to be ready and looking.My group of daycare chickens squeals with glee over a game of "hide and seek." I send the players into the hallway with strict orders of "no peeking" while I hide something for them to find. The peeking rule is hard to enforce for little kids so the oldest child gets to be the "blocker." It is a coveted roll and each longs to be the oldest with arms spread in safety patrol fashion across the hallway opening. Peeking spoils the hunt. I want them to know that fun can be found in the search itself and to cheer for the finder, even if it isn’t them. Although I try to inspire good sportsmanship at an early age, I do my best to be sure that everyone comes away the victor. I want them all to know the joy of finding.Years ago I worked in a hair salon in the mall with an older gal who was an avid bingo player. She was also the most superstitious person that I have ever met. Her belief in good and bad luck signs astounded me. She would be absolutely devastated by the dropping of a hand mirror for fear it would break, never left the house on Friday the 13th, and avoided black cats like the plague. Still, her luck always just seemed average to me. She gave notice that she would be leaving and so, for a short time, it became my secret mission and intense source of amusement to plant good luck for her. I would place the occasional penny near her car, always heads up, for her to find; a pearl-headed stickpin in her path; a pencil in the gutter; I even went so far as to plant a lady bug on her sleeve once. And I prayed for God to step in.I personally am not superstitious but for those two weeks, her luck was amazing! She was winning at bingo, having good fortune in other ways, seemed on top of the world and truly believed that she was on a "streak."I never told her or my colleagues of my follies and I don’t know what ever happened to her, but I hope that, if she is having tough times, someone somewhere cares enough for her to plant some hidden treasure. It gives me sheer joy to surprise my husband but I have learned in the seven years that we have been together that he is not a huge fan of bolts from the blue. I am often accused of trying to give him a coronary and I admit sometimes I can go a bit over the top with my surprises, but I do try to keep it simple. His favorite candy bar in a bag of groceries, keeping those little chocolate donuts that he loves on hand, and sharing my discovery of the can of WD-40 with that new pop-up straw thingy that is attached permanently to the can so you cannot misplace it. Take the time to find out what gives the people in your life pleasure.Close the gate, but never before planting some hidden treasure. Story ideas or comments can be e-mailed to Nancy at Nancy861@msn.com or please call me at 962-3411.