Yesterday I went to the bank to make a wire transfer home. They gave me the form and then said something about "today" and "not possible" and something about "tomorrow." Oh so tomorrow is ok? Yes tomorrow is fine. Oh but I can't tomorrow, Wednesday ok? And then we hit a block and spent about 30 minutes in mutual consternation, me holding this piece of paper, wondering if I should fill it out and sit in line with my number. Is it possible today? No. But fill this out anyway? I sat there with my number, waiting for a man behind the counter whom I thought had been summoned to help. But he never came. So I thought I'd fill the time by filling in my name and address. Filling, filling, filling... My number came up but I was only through "ANDRE..." so I had another confusing exchange with a new person and got a new number. And then waited for 45 minutes of careful service rendered to the holders of the two numbers ahead of me.
When it was my turn I was told that my name didn't match the one on my passbook. Lower versus upper case letter issues. Ok ok, and I allowed her to take out the ruler to draw two careful lines through my capitol lettered name so that I could rewrite it as it was printed on my passbook. And then I went back to my seat and waited. And when I was summoned again there was "Iran" something, something "North Korea" something, something and "check" with her pointing to two little boxes. Which box? No I have nothing with Iran or North Korea. (!) Which box? Oh, both boxes? Ok. By this point it was more a game of appeasement, less of communication. But maybe those things aren't really so different even when we use words that we understand.
I left with the understanding that the thing not possible "today" and which could happen "tomorrow" was the actual transfer of money. I also left with the hope and understanding that by tomorrow, when I go to the ATM to update my passbook (a process of putting a little book into a slot in the machine which notates all bank transactions into it), most of my money should have dissolved into the Pacific Ocean and be on it's way to reconstituting itself in America. And from there on to Great Lakes, another body of water that will permanently absorb it, soon to be satiated. On and on we go, from one hand to another, country to country, confusion to confusion. Getting there, almost there.
--------
When the clouds are low and the sky is clear above, the stars walk with me. I can neither get ahead, nor fall behind. Racing one another until I arrive, ringing a doorbell for dinner.
No comments:
Post a Comment