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The Daily Dose/September 12, 2008
By Gaylon Kent
The Writer's Shack
Insert obligatory "Pics Will Return" headline here!
Notes from around The Human Experience...
BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE A DIME: As mentioned over the weekend, the official Writer's Shack bank, Silver State Bank of Nevada, failed last week, it's takeover by the FDIC mentioned in a news release issued at 4:59:59.99 pm last Friday afternoon. All insured accounts were assumed by Nevada State Bank.
Start Spreading The News: This is not unusual. The FDIC, reasonably, doesn't want to announce your bank is failing at nine in the morning. You would, also reasonably, go and request your money. It's better to do it at 4:59:59.99 on Friday to avoid the type of chaos you would expect had they announced it, say, before lunch on Wednesday afternoon.
And it's not completely unsobering to read that your bank had failed. It's not completely catastrophic because, fortunately, our account was (well) less than $100,000 limit to qualify for FDIC insurance coverage, but still, we've all dealt with yo-yo government agencies before so part of you is naturally wondering if you will ever see your hard earned money again.
There was no need to worry though. ATM access was limited for awhile last Friday, and there was a $500 ATM/point of sale limit for this past weekend, but that was it.
Mr. Kent, Amy On Line Two: I even got a phone call today from Amy at Nevada State Bank. I am not in the habit of taking unscreened calls - for no particular reason you need to be made aware of, according to my attorney - so Amy left a message welcoming me and said she was standing by to be whatever assistance I required during the transition.
Is This A FunFact Or Dry, Technical Matter? I Can't Tell: Amy pronounced Nevada "nuh-vaw-duh" which leads me to think Amy hasn't been in town long because nobody here pronounces Nevada 'nuh-vaw-duh" - with the 'a' sounding like the noise the dentist makes you make when he sticks that wood thing in your mouth. Us Nevadans pronounce it "nuh-vah-duh" with 'a' sounding like the 'a' in 'bad'. Only carpet-bagging politicians, and yo-yo tourists trying to make it sound like some sort of top-secret, locals-only password that will get them discounts pronounce it "nuh-vaw-duh".
Back On Message: There really wasn't much to do. The FDIC made this a very smooth transition, and right now it is business as usual. To make sure of this, we stopped by the home branch today.
Live, You Are There Coverage: I was greeted by Olga. Olga said she worked for Silver State but I didn't recognize her and I've been banking at this branch for several years. I did recognize the girl who was once the branch manager, but evidently she had been overthrown because her desk occupied by someone else I didn't know, and there was a stranger at the New Accounts desk, and all in all it left me longing for that nine-month or so period where the prettiest girls in town were Silver State Bank tellers.
My only real concern was whether or not I would need new checks immediately. Olga said no, even though my account was now held by Nevada State Bank, all my Silver State financial instruments - which basically consist of my check book and ATM card - were still good, and would continue to be for another couple of months or so. She also reassured me the contents of my safe deposit box hadn't been sold, and I took her word for that, declining her offer to let me into my box to verify.
Uh-Oh: Since I am over 40 now and not remembering things like I used to, I forgot to ask if the direct deposit I have going into my account, and the electronic bill paying that takes money out, will be affected when the switch is completed. I suspect so, but I can jump off that bridge when I get to it.
FAQ's: To make the transition easier for us, they had brownies and cookies and other goodies in the lobby. They also had a question and answer sheet containing 47 questions, most of them highly technical and boring, though question #46 sensibly asked "What happened? Why did the bank fail?"
Typical of the government, it doesn't answer the question. It reviews when the bank was closed and who was taking over and reiterated that no one lost any insured deposit money, none of which was a bulletin. But it doesn't say why Silver State Bank failed. The papers reported that Silver State had too many bad loans, and loans secured by local real estate that isn't worth what it used to be and rascally depositors were taking out too much of their money, but who the hell knows. Anything more complicated than throwing loose change into a mason jar is entirely too complicated for us.
I CLAIM THIS LAND, ER, RIVER, IN THE NAME OF ME: Henry Hudson discovers the Hudson River on this date in 1609. Hudson would sail up his river until he got to Albany, where the river narrowed, forcing him to turn around and realize this was not the Southwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean he was hoping for. Exactly why Hudson thought he could find the Southwest passage sailing north from what would eventually be New York City isn't entirely clear, and may have something to do with why his crew mutinied and set him and some others adrift a couple of years later in Canada's Hudson Bay.
Editor's Note: Throughout the 2008 season, On This Date has been pleased to chronicle the 1908 Chicago Cubs season, the last year they won the World Series. We see no reason to stop now.
Yawn, We Did This Yesterday: The Cubs again defeat the Cardinals, this time 7-3, and have won six straight and still can't gain any ground on the effing Giants and/or Pirates!
The Post Game Show Is Brought To You By Old Style Beer: For the third day in a row, all three National League leaders win, so the Cubs remain in third place, two games back. The first-place New York Goddamn Giants defeated Brooklyn 6-3, while the Pirates defeated Cincinnati 4-3. The Giants have won five straight and 11 out of 12 and, incredibly for a team that is in first place this late and will not win the pennant, are in the middle of an eleven game winning streak. The Pirates have won two straight, and, also incredibly for a team that won't win the pennant, have winning streaks of five and eight games remaining this season.
I Declare Cold War On The United States: On this date, in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev is elected First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. While in power, Khrushchev would form the Warsaw Pact, invade Hungary, launch the Soviet space program and instigate the Cuban Missile Crisis. He would be removed from power in 1964 and replaced by Leonid Brezhnev.
Editor's Note II: Throughout the rest of the 2008 season, The Daily Dose is pleased to chronicle the collapse of the 2008 Chicago Cubs!
Take Me Out To The Ballgame: Uh, great timing guys, as the Cubs actually won Thursday, beating the Cardinals 3-2, and, in fact, have won two straight, so we really don't know what we're thinking. I mean, we don't even need the material, as we had satisfactorily long column without it. They are five and a half games up on Milwaukee in the National League Central.
Still, though, the Cubs have lost eight of their last eleven and their next two games have been postponed because of a hurricaine, so who knows what the hell is going to happen the rest of the way.
Thought For The Day: Always you have to contend with the stupidity of men...Halve your lecture, and put a psalm at the beginning and a prayer at the end of it and read it from a pulpit, and they will pronounce it good without thinking. - Henry David Thoreau
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: Pete Rose broke Stan Musial's National League hit record. In a 22-year major league career, Musial had 3,630 hits, 30 hits more than Hank Aaron had in the National League.
Today's Stumper: Who was the final General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union? - Answer next time!
Threats? Recipes? Trivia question answers? Email The Writer's Shack Here!
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