Chequed

Posted on August 13, 2013 under Storytelling with 5 comments

I have made a few mistakes in my day.  I guess that qualifies me as a person who is somewhat normal.  Errors in judgment are common and it is only upon quiet reflection that we see the trouble that we could have avoided.  If only …

Today was one of those days.  My wife had dutifully rolled up all kinds of small coins and asked me to take them to the Credit Union.  En route, a roll of dimes fell to the ground, scattering hither and yon.  The plastic casing they were housed in was destroyed so I soldiered on with fifty dimes in one hand and the other rolled coins in the other.  I entered the Credit Union and my heart sank.  The lineup stretched to the entryway.  It was cheque day.

Back in 1908, the Federal Government introduced the Canada Pension Plan to provide Canadians with   retirement income, provided that they worked and made contributions to the plan.  In 1927, another income support program, Old Age Security, came into being, entitling people who had met residency requirements to receive a guaranteed monthly cheque.  Towards the end of every month, the government issues these cheques and every month seniors clog the premises of financial institutions across the country.

I wasn’t thinking much about the genesis of these programs when I entered the building.  I just knew that I was in for a long wait if I decided to tough it out.  My options were to step outside and fling the fistful of dimes, feigning charity, or carry them back home, a walk of some 2.5 kilometers.  I checked my watch and decided, “What the hell”, and soldiered on inside.

If you think Pamplona, Spain is dangerous during the running of the bulls, just go to any financial institution on cheque day.  Everybody in the lineup has white hair or no hair.  I would like to think of my own coif as a hybrid of the two.  The lineup looks like a box of Q-tips marching toward the tellers … Queue-tips, perhaps.

It is obvious that Christian charity has been deposited outside the front door as seniors jostle for their rightful place in the lineup, especially the low wicket with the armchair specifically set up for seniors with mobility issues.  I understand this concept on most other days but on cheque day, we should all be allowed in that queue.  From all appearances this” seniors’ wicket” should be renamed the “seniors’ wicked”.

I don’t wish to exaggerate but I have been told by some of the tellers that on occasion, seniors nearly come to blows if someone tries to jump the line.  Now I understand the popularity of mixed martial arts (MMA).  Anything goes.

And did I mention privacy?  I am in the financial business and client confidentiality is paramount.  So it seems odd when you hear a customer shouting out his account number and PIN # for everyone within earshot to hear.  However, since most of us in the line have impaired hearing it’s not that big a deal.

And don’t you just love the conversation in the lineup?  It’s a good thing that we have the weather to complain about along with all of our aches and pains.  Sometimes I think that I’ve mistakenly shown up at the ER rather than the Credit Union.

I shouldn’t complain.  In twenty years or so when the last deposit is made (at the cemetery), there won’t be any lineups at financial institutions.  The younger generation does their banking from their smart phones.  When that time comes, I think that the banks should simply convert their buildings to seniors’ residences where the conversation about health and the weather can continue unabated.

Advertisement