The Bank Was Robbed And I Was There

The bank was robbed and I was there...

It was a Tuesday afternoon like all other Tuesday afternoons. I'd finished my writing and was preparing a bank deposit. The phone rang. It was my girlfriend, Marilyn. You might know her, she's the one who taught me how to make a 5-minute chocolate cake in a mug. Today, she had lots of news and we talked much longer than usual. I left to do my banking later than I planned and I told Marilyn afterwards that it was her fault that the bank robber and I arrived at the bank at just about the same time.

Thank goodness I'm a senior because at my Toronto Dominion Bank branch I never have to stand in line. Today I made my way to a side counter and sat on the 'senior' chair waiting to be served. The bank robber was not a senior and therefore had to stand in line. And, if it weren't for our age discrepancy, we probably would have stood close or next to each other. Lucky for him, that didn't happen. I always chat with the people around me. I might have brought up the subject of the weather. Did he think it was going to rain? Was his basement flooded during the storm the week before? Did he have a favorite teller? Poor bank robber, I would have talked his ear off while in his head he was going over the last minute details of the heist which would be going down in the next five minutes.

A teller approached the 'senior counter' and asked how he could help me. I explained that I needed to transfer funds from my U.S. account to my Canadian account and wondered what the exchange rate would be. He looked a little nervous and I wondered why he kept glancing over my shoulder. But I was focused on exchange rates and didn't take too much notice. I vaguely remember hearing a police siren very close by but the bank is on a main thoroughfare so I thought little of it.

The complete transaction with my teller took me about eight minutes. All the while I noticed that while it was business as usual for the other tellers, the supervisors seemed to be moving around very quickly. I checked my watch. Right. It's just about closing time, I thought. There's always a last minute rush for them to get everything done in time. My own young teller was polite enough but why did he keep looking over my shoulder? There seemed to be a bit of confusion coming from the front of the bank but there was a pillar blocking my view.

It was only when I turned to leave that I saw the policemen, the security guards, lots of bank customers milling around and the bank manager at the front door. No one was allowed to leave the building. An announcement was made for everyone to line up and show the designated police officer some form of I.D., and to let them know if we saw anything or anyone that was suspicious. People were gathering outside the bank eager to see what was going on.

Soon it was my turn to speak to the officer.

I didn't see a thing. It was all done so quietly, I said. You'd never know that the bank was being robbed just yards away from where I was standing.'

That's the way it usually happens, Ma'am,'he replied.

And then I was allowed to leave. I noticed a simple sign already posted on the front door. "Due to an emergency the bank is closed.'

When I got home, I immediately called my daughter, Erica Ehm (who is also my boss; the person I write this yummymummyclub column for)

You'll never guess what happened, I cried, milking the situation to its fullest. The bank was robbed and I was there!

Erica listened as I explained in detail how I could have been standing next to the robber, how he could have held me hostage, how he might have used me as a human shield, etc., etc., etc.

Know what she said? That's fantastic, Mommy. Start writing. This will make a terrific blog post.