Friday, February 24, 2012

Me? A Conman?

February 24, 2012:  Crossing the border, I didn’t realize that there wasn’t a cash machine in the town of Annai.  Needing to exchange my emergency cash from US Dollars to some more colorful currency, I went to the only bank in town.  It was an old small one story farm house, with the porch that conveniently served as the waiting room.

Once being granted access into the living room and after looking at the exchange rates a little more thoroughly…I thought that maybe it was time to get rid of my American Travelers Checks that I been traveling with since April of 2009. 

While I was forging my very own signature to the way I did it 3 years ago, I was told they couldn’t accept my travelers checks because I didn’t have the receipts for them – in which the company that issued these checks states that you shouldn’t carry them together.  The bank told me this after countersigning 3 checks.
 
I clearly understand policies and procedures but sometimes small town policies and procedures can be created from small town damaged brains.  The manager here was just a puppet of the bank, as I tried to reach in and pull some of his strings that were connected to the hand of his puppet master.

After the manager called the main branch in Georgetown to request leniency, he called me back into the bank and needed to know about my life history, how I financed this trip, what countries I have been to and what I do for a living.  After about 2 hours of trying to cash the checks I signed when I first arrived in the bank, they were not convinced that I was not a conman...later implying that my Passport and other documents could all be created to cash these travelers checks that could be forged – for a mere $150 USD?  I think the bank might have watched the movie, “Catch Me If You Can,” one too many times…it is time to watch something different.
With the nearest bank in Guyana being perhaps another 10 hours away, I exchanged my US Dollars and left.  Where is an intelligent ATM when you need one...

(Please note:  Photo courtesy of  www.IMDb.com)

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