Easy Come, Easy Go

EASY COME, EASY GO

At the age of nineteen, I began a career in banking, which progressed successfully for the next twenty-five years. Besides learning about debits, credits, and numerous other details of the financial industry, I also learned lessons about life, trust, and common sense.

About the time I started my employment, women were carrying handbags that resembled small suitcases. They had compartments for everything but the kitchen sink. Soon afterwards, similar wallets were manufactured. They, too, had a place for everything, including a cheque book, identification, calculator, and of course, cash. The idea was that having everything at one's fingertips made searching through pocketbooks obsolete.

However, the bank frowned upon this sort of "all in one" wallet. If lost or stolen, it was an open invitation for an unscrupulous thief to create all manner of damage. This was before the days of photo I.D. and mandatory credit checks, so stolen identification could be easily used to open bank accounts or credit card accounts, bleeding the victim dry. "Steal me," those kinds of wallets cry. "Here's everything you need to perpetuate identity theft!"

I saw this happen many times, and had to counsel new account holders of this risk. Far better to have a separate wallet for cash, a separate cheque book, and a separate holder for identification. Stolen individually, it wouldn't be quite as easy for someone to create chaos as it would with all three components at once.

Some years later, my husband and I traveled to London, England for a vacation. While touring Westminster Abbey, I stopped at a small gift kiosk in the lobby to purchase some postcards. A young man with a backpack jostled me, murmuring, "Excuse me," and went on his way. I was momentarily distracted and when I slid the postcards into my purse, I noticed my wallet was gone. I tore apart my purse but to no avail -- it had disappeared. I realized then that the man who "accidentally" bumped me, was most likely was a professional pickpocket who had pinched my wallet. I dare say he was mightily disappointed at his take, as my wallet contained less than twenty dollars in Canadian bills, some loose change, a library card, my son's school picture, and a cheque cashing card for our local grocery market, thousands of miles away in Canada.

Because of the difference in size between British and Canadian currency, I had all my British pounds and traveler's cheques in a separate, larger billfold. Fortunately for me, the pickpocket had grabbed my other wallet, and not the one with my hard-earned vacation money. I was still disenchanted to think that someone would resort to thievery within this ancient and revered abbey.

I have taken my cynical view one step further and keep my house keys separate from my car keys. My rationalization is that if I lose my car keys, I would still be able to get into my house, and if I lose my house keys, I could still drive. Without both, I would be immobilized until rescued.

Perhaps I am erring on the side of caution, but as the old adage goes, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

I would feel even safer if I could just get comfortable using a cellular phone.

Maria Harden
(c) 2002

Story ID:	444
Written by:	Maria Harden (bio, contact, other stories)
Story type:	Musings, Essays and Such
Location:	London England
Year:	1990
Person:	Maria