grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Columbus Day and Me

By

State Bank friends

In Fourteen Hundred Ninety-Two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. And not that long ago, I worked at State Bank and Trust.  During my tenure at State Bank and Trust, Columbus Day was one of my absolute favorite holidays. Not because of my overwhelming love for the man (although he could rock a hat), but because it was the only bank holiday when my kids still attended school.

I think Columbus would have appreciated education. After all, he was an explorer with an incredible thirst for knowledge.

Columbus Day

That one Monday in October carried extra special meaning to me. It represented An Entire Day To Myself.

Lordy.

I was gleeful.

It was the best day of the year.

Busy moms understand.

I showered and dressed at my regular pre-crack-of-dawn-time, dropped the kids off as though it was a normal eight-to-five day, then headed straight to Starbucks for my first Gingerbread Latte of the season.

I sat in the stillness of Barnes and Noble surrounded by books and read the newspaper cover to cover until Toys R Us opened. With the bulk of my Christmas shopping completed at a leisurely pace, I reveled in an entire afternoon of gardening.

Columbus Day was my special secret.

Can you imagine what it must have been like to load up on a ship and set sail for parts unknown? Thank God for brave souls who laid the groundwork for my easy, comfortable life.
I suppose today we can compare Columbus to space explorers or cavers who descend into black, bottomless abysses. But really,  it’s completely different. Today we have information and technology and state of the art equipment. Columbus had trade winds and a compass.
I hope all my bank friends are doing something special today. Remember to reflect on Columbus today and think about how lucky we are to live in the New World.

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]Columbus Day and me. Reflecting on how lucky I am to live in the New World. #ColumbusDay[/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:
Sam Cooke, Chain Gang

THE lost art of filing

By

I once knew a lady whose sole purpose at the bank was filing. She was short, loud and knew nothing of the alphabet. A trip into her lair to root out a particular customer’s file became an often repeated game of hide and seek. She was known as Ms. Betty. (not really but similar)


When the bank moved into the twentieth century and converted to an imaging system, Ms. Betty became the point person in charge of scanning every single customer’s file into the computer system to be preserved for all eternity. And in what order.

At this point a file search became virtual. Much time was wasted trying to envision how Ms. Betty would scan a document. Could it be found according to the guarantor’s name, and if so his first name, last name, middle name, nickname? Or maybe it was located under the company name according to the largest word in the company title… If the company name began with “A” or “The” or “In” it was sure to be filed under the first word. Unless it wasn’t.

What would Ms. Betty do?

Last week a friend and I discussed this over dinner. He once had an assistant with the same confusing filing talents. Half of the filing cabinets in his office were devoted to the “T’s” for companies beginning with The. The United Way, The Dallas Morning News, The Whatever. 

Is filing a lost art?

 I remember learning how to alphabetize in elementary school. Do kids have too much to learn now to be bothered with filing? We had consumed just enough wine to call up my son at the University of Arkansas to quiz him.

Question to Son: If you were to file “The United Way” how would you file it? Under what letter?
Response: Mom, under “U”. Everyone knows you don’t file anything according to the article!
Wow. Proud Mom Moment. My friend and I were duly impressed that my son knew not only how to file, but he knew what an article was, and he used it in a sentence. I’m not sure I remembered that…

His private school education is soooo paying off.

Then he added…They don’t alphabetize according to articles on iTunes. 

Well, of course they don’t.

talya

Musical Pairing:

ABCs, Elmo Rap

Mad Men

By

John and I are the last two people on board, but we made it. We’re slow. We know it. This week we watched our first episode of Mad Men. 
I was hooked right off by the opening sequence, haunting music, Hitchcock visuals. Cool. 

It’s a spot on study of the 1960s. I’m so into the fashion and sexism and cigarette smoking, I can barely concentrate on the plot. 
I love the banter from the secretarial pool. The men actually say honey and darling and you should wear shorter skirts, show more leg. The good ole days before sexual harassment and diversity training and computers ruined everything. 
It’s really not that different from working at the bank… but somehow it is.
Got a light?
talya
Musical Pairings:
You Only Live Twice, Nancy Sinatra
When God closes a door, he opens a dress. – Mad Men, Season 1

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!