Identifcation at the Drive-In

I once worked as a teller in the drive-in of our local bank and boy do I have some stories piled up from those years! One day a lady I didn’t recognize pulled up in the third row and asked me if she could get her check cashed.  “Yes ma’am,” I said. “But I’ll need to see some photo identification.”

I recall that we were very busy at the time so I can’t tell you what distracted me. Perhaps the phone rang, maybe I reached into my purse, or maybe I turned to the cabinet to retrieve a bank bag for a customer. I don’t remember. However, I’ll never forget my co-worker whispering under her breath. “Get ready, Shellie,” she whispered. “You’ve got to see this.” I could sense that Sandra was doing all she could not to laugh out loud so I steeled myself before looking back towards the window. I’m glad I did. There before me was my customer from the third row, only she had gotten out of her car and she was now standing directly opposite me with her license and her sweet innocent face pressed against the glass for identification. She wasn’t joking, either. To my credit, I managed to follow her cue and approve her identification in the manner in which it was presented. I can’t say Sandra and I didn’t laugh ourselves silly once the well-meaning woman drove off, because we did.

To this day I can’t tell that story without thinking of another I once heard. I don’t know if this one is true or not, but my experience tells me it could be. The way the story goes, a certain lady had written out her check at a department store when she was told that she’d need to identify herself.  The clerk said the woman paused, took out a small mirror from her handbag, looked into it very intently and announced, “Yes. That is definitely me.”

Hugs, Shellie