Banking at opening time

[oldlib]

Banking at opening time on the first day of the month is a humbling ordeal.

At present I am in the process, with Bank of America(BOFA), to reduce my monthly mortgage payment. I made three Trial Period payments on the first of the month during this process.The first of the month is when the major portion of my income, pension and Social Security, is available through automatic deposits. This coincided with the BOFA plan that demanded that the payments be in cash, through a Western Union money transfer. My Wells Fargo bank does not have a Western Union branch and therefore I would withdraw the cash needed and then go to a nearby bank, with a Western Union branch, for the money transfer.

The teller lines at both banks were horrendous, with extremely long lines. Within the lines I could sense the anxiety and urgency of the people, who I suspect, have limited income and like myself, are attempting to survive in today's poor economy. The banks do not venture to alleviate the long lines by providing additional tellers, and recognizing the composition of the crowd, simply utilize their security guards to control the lines.

This was a sad experience to witness the effect of poverty in this great country.