A Bank Job

Mike continues to read my blog, so I’ll continue to write. Thanks for the encouragement, Mike. If you see Oprah, let her know I am still available. The Last Voyage of the Cosmic Muffin is original material, not plagiarized, nor is it woven of the fabric of myths, lies and false assumptions; although there is a certain sea-captain who would spurt out his morning coffee while reading this claim as he sits at his computer dressed in his sweats and bootie slippers.

I hit the bank. Adirondack Trust Company is a hallmark institution in Saratoga Springs. Long run by the Waits, a prominent and influential family in Saratoga, but one that once hailed from my neck of the woods in rural Kings Station where the Perez and the Wait kids grew up, it is the very same bank of white Vermont marble, heavy bronze doors and tall lobby ceilings that commands a reverent silence among patrons and dedicated employees, where I opened my first passbook savings account. I was eight and had ten dollars worth of dimes that I had saved in a toy metal replica of a cash register. Each dime pushed through a slot turned a mechanism inside the toy and recorded each ten cents to a sum of $9.90. Then, the next dime flipped the dial back to $0.00.

Charles V. Wait a cheeky man with eyes that always glinted with a sparkle of knowledge deeper than most and an outward trust that probably should not be found in a banker, is the Chairman, President and CEO. But to me he is Charlie, the little kid with glasses who was a Boy Scout with my older brother—the awkward kid my dad took to Lake George for his canoeing merit badge.

My approach in my proposal was casual. A couple of days earlier, I dropped off a copy of The Last Voyage of the Cosmic Muffin at the bank. I had no intentions of asking for Charlie, but requested that the book be delivered to him. I assumed he was somewhere deep within the bank behind the bonze, and the marble and in the rarified air of the upstairs in an office tucked behind the balcony where gray haired men counted every dime I ever deposited. Now I made a phone call to the Chairman and after passing through two female voices, I was talking to Charles V. Wait.

I thought it would be a good idea if the bank gave away my book to customers who opened a new account, or maybe a 50 Plus free checking accounts. Hey, I have seen banks give $75 cash for opening an account. And what bank hasn’t given away a free toaster or coffee maker? The Adirondack Trust Company could give away a twenty dollar book. I am not so naïve that I think new customers will storm the bank for my book, but as a local author the gesture is a good community connection and the bank is all about that. Always has been.

At some point in time, I can come to the bank and sign the books for customers and maybe sell a few more. Charlie thought about the idea, but admitted he would like to read the book to see if it reflects his customers’ values.

The cool thing about my conversation with Charlie was that I learned he had a sailing experience last year too. Except he went across the Atlantic in a 100 foot boat, a replica of an old sailing vessel. Like me, he used the patch, and tasted the same truck-stop floor flavor in his mouth as I did. I did not dare ask him if his pee stunk to high heavens.