One Afternoon at a Bank

At  two o’clock on Wednesday afternoon I was at the local branch of a bank.  I had to cash a check otherwise I wouldn’t have been there… I didn’t expect many people to be there; but I was fifth in line.  There were five teller windows, but, naturally, only one was open.

The line was pretty diverse: a tall, young black guy who looked bored; a middle-aged black lady who looked tired; a young white guy holding a child of about two in his arms; an elderly white woman who kept looking around; and me. 

Methinks “Only one teller window open, figures.”  “They’re probably trying to save money by keeping personnel to minimum staffing—at the expense of customer patience and convenience."

As we stood in line buried in our own thoughts and lives, suddenly the little boy, cried out loudly:  “Daddy, Daddy”

“What is it, son?” His father asked with mild curiosity.

In a most happy little voice, the child asked, “Daddy, Dracula bite neck?”

We all burst out laughing: the tiredness, boredom, and other worries of our day melted away; we were no longer strangers but one happy family.  We all started chatting about TV shows, children, families, patting the little boy, etc.  I could only wonder what the little boy watched on TV, but suddenly even Dracula sounded like a great guy in the child’s happy little voice.   Made my day, and everyone else’s.

Whenever I’m sad, I remember this story, and it never fails to make me smile.

By:       Homeless with a Laptop, That is my Name

            Бездомные с ноутбуком, это мое имя