I thought I was in a time warp today at the grocery store.
As I was standing in line with the many North Dakotans buying their Easter hams, I saw what appeared to be people with their checkbooks. Yes, these people were taking their time, writing the given amount to pay for their groceries.
I don't think I have written a check in public for about three years. It is either cash or card for me. This transition occured when I realized that in Des Moines and Minneapolis, it was rare to find a restaurant or establishment that would actually take a check.
I think North Dakota might be one of the last places where the check is still accepted. This is not to say that I am mocking North Dakota or their way of doing things. Quite the opposite. I like that in North Dakota your name and your signature still means something. It means that you are good for it. It means that people are honest and really do have money in their accounts. It means that people are not rushed to change simply because technology tells them to. It means that being quick and easy isn't always the right way to do things.
4 comments:
what's a check?
(just kidding)
I use cash pretty much everywhere. have for years. I had a crappy bank and after I left them, didn't really bother to get another one.
I'm guessing i'm in the minority on this one though.
Minnesota still welcomes checks at many, many places! I love that! I think it's a simplistic, midwest thing.
About the only time I use checks is to pay at places that do not take credit cards, like my doctor's office. I hardly write checks at home either. I pay most of my bills online.
Check-writing, for me, has some nostalgic feeling attached. I guess opening my checking account was like a rite of passage for me, so it still takes me back to those early days of feeling as though I had entered and maybe even started to conquer the real world (via the banking system) when really I was just starting to test the water.
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