QotD: Why does the taste of pennies remind you of losing a tooth?

Kid gets halfway through breakfast ‘fore Ma’am spots her favoring one side chewin’. Loose tooth, hey, M’liss, she says. Kid shakes her head but Ma’am’s finger’s in her mouth and she’s saying, Off with you to Ol’ Joe’s.

So kid heads out, draggin’ a foot, whilst Billy Jay and his pal Cooter hoot ‘n’ holler her down the street. Kid gives the tenderest little tap on Ol’ Joe’s door, workin’ up her speech to Ma’am ‘bout him not being to home, but he’s squeakin’ them screen hinges and grinnin’ like to break his face ‘fore she gets the second tap goin’.

Next she knows, he’s got her drug inside and he’s down on one knee tyin’ a bit o’ string on her wobbler. Kid’s got a good sweat goin’ when he says not to worrit none ‘cause he ain’t doin’ no pullin’ ‘til her say-so. Then her eyes goes wide when he shoves her ‘round the corner and she sights the gol’durn biggest penny jar you ever did see. Big around as her arms would go and then some, and stands higher than her waist. Who’da thought there could be so many pennies in all the world? Ol’ Joe’s got seventeen gazillion wrinkles on his ol’ face, but ain’t half so many wrinkles as pennies in that jar. Only she ain’t seein’ pennies, but all them nice things pennies go tradin’ fer. Twisty reds, licorice bits, big ol’ jawbreakers in fourteen colors right down to a hot red center, car’mel corn, all-day suckers, pink bubblegum with a joke inside the wrap…

Then Ol’ Joe’s sayin’ to put her hand inside and fetch up as many pennies as it’s worth getting’ that tooth yanked. So she plunks her hand down inside that narrow spout, countin’ one two three ‘fore she makes a grab and feels the yank. Hurts some, but she got her mind on them pennies in her fist. Catch is, she cain’t get that fistful back out’n that spout. Ol’ Joe’s laughin’ to split a gut and callin’ her monkey, and she gets in a flash how she’s been took. She drops half them pennies and then a few more, ‘til she sees there ain’t no way she’s never gettin’ no penny out’n that jar, nary a one. She lets loose and gits her hand out, scowlin’ at Ol’ Joe and thinkin’ how he’s been foolin’ kids since day one and her Ma’am no better ‘bout sparin’ her the joke than her fool brother and stupid ol’ Cooter.

Now, could be yer one o’ them idjits goes on puttin’ yer pocket change in yer mouth despite yer Ma’am tellin’ ya ‘bout filthy lucre, and could be copper tastes the same to you as iron ‘cause you ain’t too particular ‘bout what sort of metal you chew. Could be that’s why the taste of a penny reminds you of that bit o’ blood in yer mouth when the ivories come out. Blood’s got a mess o’ iron in it, see.

M’liss, on t’other hand, jest thinks on Ol’ Joe and his mess o’ pennies, laughin’ his fool head off seein’ her dream up all them nice things pennies trade fer. One thing ‘bout M’liss, though, was her gettin’ her hand out o’ that jar a mite quicker than Billy Jay ever done, and she didn’t go on back no second time like dumb ol’ Cooter. Weren’t never shy ‘bout yankin’ her own damn tooth next time neither.