Happy Holidays

Stood in line at Commerce Bank today to make a deposit for Leila. She had paid for her sister's phone bill two months in a row and I wanted to repay her. It was a long line and I was getting hot as I had my coat on. There were three tellers and it seemed like they had one trouble customer after another. I just wanted to put green stuff into the bank! It wasn't rocket science.

I noticed a little girl trolloping around the higher than wide Christmas tree standing between the personal bankers and teller section. "No, Milka," said an older girl behind me, who later I would find out was her cousin. She was telling her not to touch the ornaments. But Milka touched as many as she could and went completely around the tree. I imagined the tree accidentally spilling over and as long as no one got hurt, thought of how stirring that would be...to see the tree crash down in such a staid establishment.

I kept watching Milka. She was a sweet girl and awfully curious. She lingered by the coin machine. I lost track of her as I grew hotter waiting for the snail line to move. I looked out the enormous plated windows revealing the Brooklyn Supreme Court and Post Office. Then I saw Milka standing at the front of the line. Her cousin tried catching Milka's attention without bringing too much attention to herself, but Milka was politely oblivious. A personal banker briskly walked by us in the line and swiveled around to address Milka's Mom or Aunt, I'm not sure of her status to Milka. "Please give her some pennies or quarters to put in the machine," she said half demanding and half lightly and then she kept walking. "Why doesn't Commerce give her some pennies?" I thought. "What a kind gesture that would be. But Milka is just a customer's child. The personal banker understood how much delight it would bring Milka but couldn't convince herself of the individual joy the banker, herself, would receive by giving to this imaginative child.

Milka was two customers away from me and she was at the front of the line. The woman in front of me smiled too and when she was called to the teller Milka followed her. I turned to Milka's guardian and asked if it would be okay if I gave her some change. She smiled and said "yes." I remembered a colleague yesterday who also had gone to the bank and also seen a little girl running around and spoke pleasantly to her when the woman behind her said, "That's not right," and it really offended my co-worker. Now here I was being allowed to give an adorable and inquisitive little girl some coins to run through the machine and get a five dollar bill, the equivalent of the one I gave the teller and who in turn gave me six rolls of pennies and a roll of nickels.

I called Milka over. The teller started handing me the coins. He looked perturbed even though he was slowly awakening to the idea that I was giving them to the little girl. I told Milka to put them in her pocket but the first roll of pennies brought her fingers to the top and she wanted that plastic off! I slid all the rolls of coins into her pocket and her little hoodie was weighted down. Milka's adventure had produced her a chance of running five dollars worth of pennies and nickels through the counting machine. She had touched every ornament. She had garnered the attention of a woman who earlier wanted the Christmas tree to fall down.

I walked away liking myself.