Geez! You'd think I deserved a medal just for being honest.

[NightTrain]

A little while ago, I went to the bank to cash my paycheck. As I headed for the exit counting my money, I noticed that the teller had given me $100 too much.

I was elated! With the possibility that I'll become unemployed any day now, this unexpected windfall would certainly come in handy some time in the foreseeable future. So, I stuffed my wallet into my pants pocket and headed for the car.

But then, I got to thinking. If that teller's cash drawer came up $100 short, would the bank make her pay it back out of her own pocket? If so, how badly would it damage the woman's finances? What if she made even less an hour than I did and had more responsibilities, like a kid or two? So, I returned to the bank and gave the teller back her $100.

That's when the disturbing thing happened.

The teller gushed with gratitude, to a point at which I felt a little embarrassed. Meanwhile, her supervisor, who stood behind the teller, had a look of pure amazement on her face and exclaimed, "Dean, you're now my favorite customer!"

Is this what America has come to? Do people automatically expect the other guy to be a dishonest son of a bitch who thinks nothing of stabbing a fellow human being in the back to further his own ends? It certainly seemed that way in the bank tonight!

Granted, I was initially tempted to keep that $100, but instead I gave it back. It was an act of simple honesty. Why did the teller and her boss have to make such a big deal out of it?

Goddammit, this is NOT the America that my parents brought me up to believe in!