The Bank

I came across this while going through and trying to organize a stack of books and old writings. Well, more accurately, trying to incorporate a new stack of books into my existing mountain of books all while alleviating the bowing shelves..

Anyways, it's from 2005. I think it must have been an exercise we did when reading Chaucer? That's the only thing that springs to mind as an explanation for the piece. All that is written on it is the title, English pd 2, and the date; so that's what I'm going with.

I hope you are as amused as I was in reading it as I had completely forgotten I even wrote it.



The Bank.

Ah, the 1900's. Truly a beautiful and unique century. I have always wondered how it would have been to live at the beginning of the 1900's. The excitement of what was to come must have been great. And that last thought moves me to think of our most recent time change into the 21st century. This new century was more of a scare then a joy. Half of the population thought that all the computer would 'crash.' Others thought the aliens were going to come back. There were many rumors, but all were speculation.

The people who survived the transition into the 20th century were as ordinary as you and me. They had towns, houses, and streets. They had families, friends, and foes. They had banks and bank robbers. And, so starts the story of ten people, whose lives will be changed forever, (or at least a very long time.) ...

..It was 4:35 in the afternoon, when three men with guns and gorilla masks barged into the bank on 25th Street.

The first robber was known as Bruce to his friends. His real name was Bryan Rylee Ulysses Clay Edmond.  He was the oldest of five children and was the example for the other children of the Edmond's. Bruce, was accordingly, beat when he did something wrong. All the Edmond children were beaten when they got into trouble, but Bruce was beaten more than the others.  It wasn't that he got in more trouble, it was that he got caught and blamed more. He was a child without fear.

As he got older his crimes increased in number and severity. Soon his illegal actions became part of his rebellion against his mother. He lived with passion and without fear of anything except his mother.

The second robber was also without fear.  He had a good reason not to be. Unlike his fellow robbers, he worked for the government. No, he didn't need the money. Roy Jones stole for the thrill, for the feeling of being in charge.

For Roy too had a terrible childhood.  When he was five years old he fell into boiling water. It was very traumatic for the Jones family. Roy was considered a cripple for most of his life. When he was older he was in a car accident and nearly died. He was mistaken for an federal agent and had one of the top doctors work on him. But this was no ordinary doctor. When Roy Jones awoke after the 'surgery' he found that he was indeed half robot.  Physically he wasn't cripple, but when it came to feelings he was.

Now the third robber, sadly, was the last and the least.  He was in fact little Johnny Edmond the youngest of the Edmond children. Like his older brother Bruce, he too was beaten when in trouble. Although his mother beat him, she had more lenience with him. His brothers thought it was because he was the youngest. The real reason was that he suffered from short term memory loss, and now in the bank with Bruce and Roy, a gun in his hands and gorilla mask on his face, he hadn't a clue of what was going on.

And as in most bank robberies there was a hostage. As Bill Smith stood with the gun pointed at him, he was completely calm. Bill Smith, a descendant of John Smith, had a rather interesting life. He grew up on a farm in Alabama. During summer vacation he would play hide and seek with his brothers. One year, he fell down a hill and landed in a cluster of mushrooms and spiders. Since then he has been afraid of mushrooms. When he was older, he left the farm to become an astronaut. Bill had all the training to go into outer space, but he never went into space, so he never became famous.  His father had recently died and Bill Smith was at the bank to cash out his father's accounts.

At one of the desks, in the bank, sits an accountant by the name of Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown went to an academy in Washington. In second grade he went on a field trip to the zoo. The students saw elephants, tigers, zebras and the monkeys last. When they saw the monkeys, one of the zoo keepers was in the monkey cage feeding the monkeys. The children were amazed with the monkeys.  Then one of the younger monkeys bit the zoo keeper's hand.  When the young Mr. Brown saw this he began to cry. Mr Brown has had trouble showing his emotion since that day. He also has been deathly afraid of monkeys.

When the three robbers came in, he was the first to yell in panic. Also, in reaction to the gorilla faced men, Mr. Brown flew under his desk. For the duration of the robbery, Mr. Brown remained there.

There was another man in that bank dealing with accounts that day. Greg Thomas the local high school teacher was in the bank to inform one of the tellers that when he deposited his pay check, that they didn't put the full amount into his account. He would have just called in to fix the problem but his phone wasn't working. The phone wasn't working because he couldn't pay the phone bill because his check didn't get into his account. Greg Thomas was a big talker and for his phone to be out was just the last straw for him.

Greg Thomas grew up without electricity. His family didn't have a telephone, television, or radio.  He didn't care about having a television or radio. All he wanted was a telephone.  To talk to people without having to go and see them was his dream..And so, he found himself at the bank.

Also found at the bank that day, was Charlie Mead. When Charlie was about 15 years his father left and it was up to Charlie to be 'the man' of the house and support his mother and sister.  Most people who learn about reality at a young age end up with a good head on their shoulders. Charlie Mead is an exception.

Not only did he have two jobs when he dropped out of school; he also had a band. His band-mates were not the best influence on him either.. He was the lead guitarist in the band until today. He didn't tell them that he wasn't going to be in the band anymore. He had a better idea. He went to the bank that day to empty the band's account.  From the bank he planned to go to the airport and get the next available flight to Paris. As fate may have it, Charlie never got a chance to empty the account or get to the airport.

The tradions of the Greeks are some we may never understand. D'mitri Remo, a Greek fisherman, by trade, always celebrated the New Year with his family. When he was about twenty, his family moved to the United States and the next year death took his parents. Sadly D'mitri's mother didn't cook the lamb's stomach properly and she and her husband died of food poisoning.

It is very traumatic to loose a parent, but to loose both parents and in a family tradition, no less, was too much for D'mitri. After that day, he has been a strict vegetarian.. He was at the bank to take a loan out for a new house.

Sitting on the floor next to D'mitri was Dean Tippery. He was at the bank to deposit his check from work. He very rarely got work, well, work he wanted anyway. He was a struggling baseball player. Ever since he could run he ran extremely fast. Both he and his parents knew his calling was for running, but his passion was for baseball. He didn't like to run. And he didn't want to disappoint his parents; that was his main concern.

He was very disciplined. Half of every pay check he got, he put into his savings account. He didn't have a television, or a car, and he only used his telephone for very important calls. There was no reason for his parents to be disappointed, but he found many reason regardless.

Shrunk in the nearest corner by the door was Shannon Idle. During the robbery she had resorted back to her old habits; be quiet, calm, and meek.

In grade school and up to high school Shannon was a very calm girl who never stood up for herself. People stole from her, talked bad about her, and she did nothing. Finally, one day, she stood up for herself. She told the people who were mean and stole from her what she should have said in the first place.

One guy had not heard of Shannon's new found self respect. He did what he always did when she walked by; he was inappropriate with her. But this time was different. She retaliated. He fought back.

Some say it was murder, other say it was self defense. Either way, Shannon's tormentor died from his wounds.

She was put in jail for a long time. Her older brother snuck her out of jail and she has been free ever since.

Now she is a hair dresser, who goes by Sherri, the name of her little sister who died when she was three days old.

These ten people lived through the transition into the 20th century. Each has hopes and fears, stories and dreams to tell.

And 'what happened to them all' you ask? Well, that's a question for the history books.