{"id":87737,"date":"2015-07-13T17:00:28","date_gmt":"2015-07-13T21:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?p=87737"},"modified":"2015-07-14T11:16:50","modified_gmt":"2015-07-14T15:16:50","slug":"sunshine-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2015\/07\/13\/sunshine-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunshine Day"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Note-1\"<\/a>

A bank note of the Chung Hwa Republic.<\/p><\/div>\n

Since moving to\u00a0a neighborhood with a rapidly aging population, it has been my observation that old people enjoy going to the bank. While banking is, for most of us, a necessary ordeal, it\u2019s also easy to see the appeal for someone isolated: you get time and contact and attention\u2014all while conducting some sort of business. Plus, the air-conditioning is generally glacial.<\/p>\n

The employees of my local branch are a patient bunch. On a recent visit, an old man in a baseball cap burst into the office where I was sitting, arranging a trip and enjoying the air-conditioning. \u201cWhere\u2019s Melissa?\u201d he demanded querulously. \u201cI want to see Melissa!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMelissa isn\u2019t here anymore,\u201d said her replacement.<\/p>\n

The old man looked bewildered and sad. Then he gathered himself up and said in my general direction, \u201cDon\u2019t expect any service around here!\u201d and left.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I saw that on the desk was a beer cozy shaped like a small T-shirt and emblazoned with the bank\u2019s logo.<\/p>\n

Within the span of a few minutes\u2014I was at the teller\u2019s window, now\u2014another old lady came in and asked for a hundred dollars in ones, and the same man (the one who\u2019d yelled for Melissa) yelled loudly at the manager. One particularly sour fellow found himself before the window of a sunny young teller with a Little Richard\u2013style pompadour.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow are you today?\u201d asked the young man pleasantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cLousy!\u201d said the customer. \u201cAnd you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLivin\u2019 the dream!\u201d said the teller. \u201cEvery day!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe you,\u201d\u00a0said his antagonist. \u201cBut sure, whatever. You\u2019re young. You\u2019ll know better when you\u2019re my age.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re a man in the prime of life!\u201d said the employee.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been having shitty days since before you were born,\u201d said the old man fiercely.<\/p>\n

The younger man laughed gaily, as if at good-natured wit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI assume you can do basic arithmetic, if you\u2019re doing this job,\u201d said the wit with dripping sarcasm, \u201cso you can see I\u2019m right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAge is only a number!\u201d said the teller, with what was beginning to look like sadism.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, well, my numbers are lousy,\u201d snarled the man. (I thought that was pretty good.) \u201cI\u2019ll leave you to it,\u201d he said somewhat lamely and stalked off.<\/p>\n

But not to worry: others were lining up.<\/p>\n

\n

Sadie Stein is contributing editor of\u00a0<\/em>The Paris Review, and the\u00a0<\/em>Daily\u2019s correspondent.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since moving to\u00a0a neighborhood with a rapidly aging population, it has been my observation that old people enjoy going to the bank. While banking is, for most of us, a necessary ordeal, it\u2019s also easy to see the appeal for someone isolated: you get time and contact and attention\u2014all while conducting some sort of business. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13115],"tags":[18772,17814,13326,16748,18774,18773,18775],"class_list":["post-87737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-our-daily-correspondent","tag-air-conditioning","tag-banks","tag-melissa","tag-old-people","tag-sadism","tag-sarcasm","tag-tellers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Day at an Upper West Side Bank<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sadie Stein on banking alongside the elderly.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2015\/07\/13\/sunshine-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sunshine Day by Sadie Stein\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"July 13, 2015 \u2013 Since moving to\u00a0a neighborhood with a rapidly aging population, it has been my observation that old people enjoy going to the bank. 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