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East is East and West is West, and ne'er the twain shall meet. Sandwich wraps may be catching on in New York, but not so California friendliness, at least when it comes to banks--or their customers. Following is an item written by a New Yorker that appeared in the Metropolitan Diary column of The New York Times of Aug. 28:


Dear Diary:They're not like us out there!

I was visiting my son in Sacramento and joined him on a trip to his bank. Most of the transactions with the customers seemed to take some time. Finally it was my son's turn, and the teller greeted him: "Hi, Rick, how are the dogs? Last week, Suzie told me one of them was sick. And by the way, how was that meat loaf recipe I gave Suzie?"

Rick stood there and chatted with her, oblivious to the line that continued to form behind him.

I stood there and thought: "GIVE HIM THE MONEY. JUST GIVE HIM THE MONEY!"


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