Banking in the Midwest

"This is gonna sound weird but..."

Dan and I had just finished up some banking at our local Bank of America. Our very nice personal banker associate, David had helped us consolidate some credit cards and change my name on our new accounts, etc. The last time we had come to the bank, David had offered us some Cardinals tickets. Unfortunately, they were for the Friday night my parents are coming to town to visit us, and we had to refuse. This time, David had no cardinals tickets for us. Instead:

"This is gonna sound weird but... do you guys like cucumbers?"

"Sure," said the Smiths.

It was nearing 6 o'clock closing time, and apparently someone had brought home-grown cucumbers to work that day and one really huge one had gone untaken. David returned with not only the cucumber, but some dog treats wrapped in a money envelope for our dog, Lucy.

Is this weird to anyone else? I have NEVER gone to the bank and left with anything but cash in my pocket. But here in Missouri they apparently give gifts to you when you come to the bank. Cucumbers, dog treats and cardinals tickets.

Upon handing us the dog treats, David said, "Here ya go, a late wedding present, if you will."

One other thing to note is that I am applying to work at this Bank of America location. They really are ridiculously nice there. Both David and his boss Richard said they would call the Bank of America recruiters and recommend me for the teller job that is posted. And I had already seen a notification of their referral when I got home tonight. So maybe I will get to work there and 1. get lots of free dog treats/produce 2. Get the scoop on why they give away fun free stuff so much...