Category: AT THE ATM

A series of events where I was thankful I was “raised right,” as I keep “finding those cards.”

Posted in AT THE ATM, HOLIDAYS

At the ATM, It Happened Again: “Triple Debit Indebtedness”

Posted on by pastorappreciationblog

Not too long ago, I wrote about how, in just over a month, I had found 2 Bank Debit/Credit cards, and how it made me realize how blessed I was to be “raised right.” To do the right thing.
That particular writing was called “Double Debit Indebtedness,” and told the story of how I had found the cards, well over 100 miles apart: One in August, and one over the Labor Day Weekend.
Well … this past weekend was Thanksgiving Holiday weekend …

It is a weekend I look forward to, all year. 4 days off, and, yes … lots of football. So much to be thankful for, and the joy I take in hearing others just talk about what they are thankful for.
The word “Veteran” came up a lot, and, on Thanksgiving Day alone … I heard our National Anthem on 3 separate occasions, from 3 separate states.

We have so much to be thankful for.
Among our greatest blessings has to be the examples we’ve had, starting with our parents, and continuing throughout our lives, with great examples we’ve been exposed to, that God has brought into our lives.

So … back to the weekend. True to my word, I didn’t leave the house until early Saturday morning, to trek to the grocery store (something I’m also thankful for). Seemed that most of the population was still exhausted from Friday (which is called “Black,” yes, like the Plague), so not many people were out.

Back to work on Monday, and I had to stop by the local bank’s ATM to pick up some cash, to have for the next day, for a collection they are taking up for, at School. Since I don’t carry cash, I never have money to give on the “same-day.”
Anyway, it was Monday, after School, and I was exhausted. I drove up to the ATM, put my card in … and, you guessed it … it wouldn’t go in. There was another Bank card in the machine, left by the previous visitor. I first thought was, “No, can’t be. Not the third time in 3 months.” But, there it was. I took it out, looked at the name, which was hard to see in the twilight. Man! It gets dark early up here!
Plus, even my eyes were exhausted. It never occurred to me that the bank was open, and I could have just pulled around, walked in, to give them the card. Or just pull up to the drive-through. I guess my only thought was getting home to the recliner, and my much-anticipated nap. I did call the bank, first thing, and, yes, they did ask if I could bring the card in. I explained I was already home (hoping they could sense the exhaustion in my voice), and would bring the card in the next day. They said that was ok, just deliver it through the drive-through, which I did, immediately after School the next day.

Once again, it made me realize how thankful I am, to have been raised to be honest. As I write this, it strikes me that I am also thankful that I had 20.00 left in the bank … after the Holiday!
And, as much as I may disagree with some of their policies, I am thankful that we do have banks. And, that we can bank, can do business with, any bank or financial institution we choose. This is another one of those “freedoms” we have, which we take for granted so often. I am also grateful for many of the services they offer, like the ATM, and the technology which exists, which allows us to “use our debit card just like a credit card” (sounds like a commercial, doesn’t it?).

I’m thankful I could write this in the earlier post:
“I was so glad I was “raised right.”
Raised to be honest.
And, that I was taught the difference between right and wrong.
And, yes, taught to work hard.
By the living examples of those who raised me, who were as hard-working as they were honest.
I may have strayed, but they never did.”

Let’s see … A found card over Summer Holiday, a found card over the Labor Day Holiday, a found card over the Thanksgiving Holiday … guess I’ll have to go back to the ATM over Christmas …

Blessings to you, and your family,
Richard. Vincent. Rose.

Here’s the link to Double Debit Indebtedness

 

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Posted in AT THE ATM, HOLIDAYS, ROADS SCHOLAR

“Double Debit Indebtedness”- Part Two

Posted on by pastorappreciationblog

Hi Friends:

It was this past August, and Carol and I were returning from a trip to Georgia. As we traveled up Highway 93 North, we stopped at the newly remodeled/rebuilt New Hampshire Visitors Center in Hooksett. They did a great job on it, making it a combination of shopping/dining/gas stations and a New Hampshire History Museum. I spent a long time at the exhibits, and wanted to spend more time, but we wanted to get home by dark, as we have to travel through moose country on the last leg of the journey home.

As I stepped off of the curb, into the parking lot, I glanced down at the pavement … yes … always on the lookout for that penny … but, this time, I saw something much more: It was a shiny Bank Debit Card. As I reached down and picked it up (sub-consciously looking around to see if I was noticed), I saw that it was a Business Debit Card. I noted that it looked fairly new, and it was still well within the expiration date. I then took my wallet out, and placed it inside, for safe-keeping.

Here’s the first thought that I had:
I was glad that I was the one who found it.
I was glad that the owner didn’t have to worry about someone using their lost card.
I know full well, as I never carry cash and always use the same type of card for transactions, which, these days, if the amount of the debit is under a set amount, you don’t even have to sign the receipt.
As a “card-carrying” businessman myself, I know full well the possibilities, and the concern which a lost card can bring.

I thought about how long we were at the Welcome Center … I would safely guess that it was the longest period of time we’d ever spent at one of these stops. It seemed to “be arranged” that we would step off that curb at just the exact, right time. It’s hard to imagine someone seeing the card and not picking it up … regardless of motive. It must have “just been dropped” … just before we headed out.

Anyway, I am thankful, as I wrote in Part One, that I was raised to be honest. I remember, as I thought about the “coincidence” of us finding the card, how thankful I was to have been given the opportunity to bless someone we didn’t know, just by being honest.

First thing the next morning, I called the telephone number listed on the back of the card, and explained about finding the card. The Bank was in Massachusetts, and no one had called, yet, about the card being missing. Somehow, that made me more grateful to have found it. If the wrong person had found the card, and it wasn’t noticed to be missing for a while … well, I was glad I found it.

I really didn’t want to give my name or any information; I just wanted to report the card. However, there was something else that moved me to at least give my name and telephone number. I wanted whoever owned the card to know that there are still honest people in the world. You just never know how your actions, even small, may affect someone else in a positive way. I know that regardless of how I am treated by someone, or I see people who act in a negative way, how much it blesses me to see someone who was “raised right.” It encourages me to “keep on keeping on.”
So, I gave my contact information, and explained to the man at the Bank why.

Later that day, when I came back in the house from Summer chores, there was a message on the answering machine. I recognized the name from the name on the Card. He left his telephone number. Again … I thought about not calling … I really didn’t want to. It was no big deal to me, it was just something you do. Period. But, I got that same feeling about someone else knowing that there are still honest people in the world … so I called.

What are the chances? The man’s Bank was headquartered in Massachusetts, but he lived in New Hampshire. He had been traveling to spend some time with his son in college. Somehow, he noticed something about me, just from the way I talked: That I was a Christian. Then, he confirmed that, he too, was a Christian. What are the chances? In our conversation, of course, he thanked me. Right off the bat, I told him how thankful I was to have been “raised right,” and explained to him my motive for wanting him to know that, yes, there are still honest people in the world.

That was in late August. Now, it’s the Labor Day Weekend. It’s the Saturday of the Holiday, and of course, I spent the day at School. Leaving the School, I did something I hardly ever do: I stopped at the local Bank branch to take some cash out of the ATM. By the way, do you know why they call it an ATM? Because that’s where All The Money is. Anyway, as I put my card into the slot, it wouldn’t go in. I tried it again. Still wouldn’t go in. Then, I saw why:
You guessed it … there was a Debit/Credit Card left in the slop. Shiny and new … and, it was Saturday … Banks wouldn’t be open until Tuesday … Long, Holiday weekend. Yet, again, I felt that same feeling. How it was the first Saturday I had worked at School this School year. I know it was the first Saturday of the School year, but you get the idea. I hardly ever stop at this Bank’s ATM, as I don’t carry cash as a rule … even if I plan to spend it all on the next stop …

I was so glad I was “raised right.”
Raised to be honest.
And, that I was taught the difference between right and wrong.
And, yes, taught to work hard.
By the living examples of those who raised me, who were as hard-working as they were honest.
I may have strayed, but they never did.

Blessings to you, and your family,
Richard. Vincent. Rose.

 

Posted in AT THE ATM, I REMEMBER, WEALTH STORED FOR THE RIGHTEOUS

Wealth Stored for the Righteous-Part 17: “Double Debit Indebtedness”- Part One

Posted on by pastorappreciationblog

Hi Friends:

I am so thankful to get back to writing, and to this series. I looked at how I began the last installment in this series, posted a while ago, and this is how it started:

“It is good to be back to writing. With job, business, and other writing responsibilities, it’s funny how “your first love” gets pushed “to the back.” Plus, the opportunity to travel has also figured into the time equation. We’re back to our series, in which, yes, we are thankful for what our Heavenly future holds, but, let’s not forget all of the benefits … all of the blessings … There are just so many blessings we have, in our life right now, which, often, we take for granted … “

When this series goes to print form, I am sure that I will use sub-titles for each chapter.
I had originally planned to write this as a separate, “stand-alone” post, but, I felt led to include it as a much-appreciated chapter in the series … At first, I was going to include this in our “Travel” series, but the exact same thing which prompted me to include it as part of “Travel” happened again … locally …

So, here goes: “Double Debit Indebtedness:”

I am so thankful that I was “raised right.” While this may mean different things for different people, what I mean is that I am so glad … and, so proud … and, so thankful … to have been raised “right.”
In a Christian home.
Taught the difference between right and wrong.
By honest parents.
Who taught me to be honest.
Hard working parents.
Who taught me to work hard.
My first job was at 14.
I haven’t stopped working.
Ever.

I was taught to be grateful for everything I had.
Somehow … I just knew that, regardless of how “poor” we may have been, there were so many others who were so much worse off.
I’ve learned that the best advantage I had, growing up, were my parents, and what they taught me.
What they showed me-by how they lived their lives.
I strayed … they didn’t.
Ever.
Again:
I strayed.
They didn’t.
Ever.

They taught me that the “important” things I wanted to have … in order to have them … I must work for them.
Period.
Period.

They were a moral foundation which I could build my life upon. Because … they built their life upon the same foundation.
I strayed.
They didn’t.
Ever.

They were honest. They were hard-working. They were respectful.
They were great.
The best kind of great.
The kind of great which influenced all who knew them.

Examples of how they lived their lives would fill many pages.
What drove me to write this installment of the series was just one example I was taught:
Honesty.
Being honest.

I can honestly say that I really don’t know how to not be honest. I don’t. I don’t know how to be dishonest. I never saw it in them, and I never learned how to be anything but honest.

Oh yeah … I am human, and there are certain traits which are “built into” all humans.
Like telling a lie.
You don’t have to teach a child how to lie:
“Who broke the lamp?”
The ability to lie is part of our sinful nature which you don’t have to teach. We are all born with it.

However … the ability to be honest … that is something which has to be taught.
We aren’t born to be honest. That would go against our sinful nature. We must learn to be honest.
Honest!
If we don’t “learn” to be honest …
We won’t be.
Yes, we can learn to lie. I won’t “lie” about that.
But, in order to “learn” to lie … if we have to learn to lie … that means it would have to go against what we have been taught. We’d have to “learn.”

I think back to what I wrote about what I’ve written about my Dad. How honest he was, and, still is. He is the only person I’ve ever known who, if he found money in the change slot of a pay-telephone or vending machine … he would put it back.
I’ve seen this.
He would, literally, put the change back into the machine.

It looks like it may be possible to have a “Part-2” as a part of a “part of” a series.

I am just so thankful that I had parents who taught me right from wrong.
Who were honest.
It is the “honesty” part which has driven me to include this installment as part of the series.

I am so thankful that I had parents who “raised me right.”
As a teacher in Public Schools … well … let’s just say … well … you know what I am saying.
I can honest say that I have heard the old saying about “the apple not falling far from the tree” many times in my time in the Public Schools. However, I can honestly say that I have never, ever heard that saying used in a positive way.
Never.
Ever.

This series is about being thankful for what we already have.
I realize there are so many, which Jesus has saved out of disastrous circumstances and upbringings. That there are many who have “turned away” from a Godly upbringing. I realize this. Yet, how often have those of us who were blessed to have been “raised right” thanked God for their upbringing? I mean, being thankful every day. When, every day, as you list what you are thankful for, that you praise God for the way you were raised?
I must admit, that, while I make a point, every day, to thank God for things I don’t want to take for granted, like electricity and running water (and always add “running hot water”), but I have failed to be thankful for the first real blessing of my life:
To be raised in a Christian home.
To have been taught the difference between right and wrong.
To have been taught to be honest.

What a blessing, “freely bestowed,” to have been “raised right.”
To know that, regardless of how I may have strayed …
They never did.
Ever.

Blessings to you, and your family,
Richard. Vincent. Rose.

Here’s a direct link to the entire series so far:

Wealth Stored for the Righteous