YOU HAVE A FRIEND AT BANK OF AMERICA

      It’s that time of year again, Ho! HO! HO! which means Judy and I go through our annual ‘song and dance routine’ about my going to our bank to get money to give out as Xmas gifts to the many people who have helped us doing the year. As usual, Judy admonished me to get ‘new bills’ and Xmas envelopes to hold the bills. As usual, I told her that Bank America stopped giving out those nice little red and green envelopes years ago. As usual, Judy told me to ask for them.

     I resignedly put my head down and headed out the door, but first I had to load the car with six packages to take to the Post Office. These packages contain  the Victorian photo albums I  sold on EBay this past week - - - the heaviest weighed in at 8 pounds 3 ounces. Because of my difficulty in walking I always use a cane  but with this load I switched to my walker, and stacked the packages on the walker and then loaded them into the car.

     At the Post Office I loaded up the walker and was unlucky enough to have arrived when the line extended out the door with people doing their Xmas gift mailing early. It took about 25 minutes and I was at the head of the line.      

     “Next” the young lady in her grey postal uniform called out and I wheeled my load to her desk. One by one I picked up each parcel and placed it on the table to be weighed and stamped. The lady apologized for the long wait, which in of itself was quite a shock. (It will be a snowy day in Florida before a doctor apologizes for keeping a patient waiting an hour or more.)

     As I lifted the last and heaviest parcel onto the scale the postal lady asked, “Where’s your wife? Why isn’t SHE doing this? I laughed. “She’s playing bridge,” I responded.

     Then, my transaction completed, I wheeled the empty walker back to car and set off to Bank of America to finish my chores for the day. The line was a bit shorter here and I asked the young teller in her red, blue and white uniform for tens and fives in, “new bills, please.”

     After she counted out my money I asked her if she had any Xmas envelopes to hold the gifts. She answered, “I told you last year that Bank of America stopped giving out those envelopes years ago.”

     HO! HO!, HO!