Andrew J. Lederer

it has higher interest rates, but you gotta mail your deposits in. so, when i need money fast, i have to go to a check cashing place.

well, as you probably know, i have mounting expenses that are piling on top of me, so that's exactly what i decided to do saturday morning, having finally received the checks from that comedy newswriting gig late friday afternoon.

sure, i would lose a few bucks to "the vig" but a check cashing place can give you money, fast. and there's a check cashing place right near my apartment, so what could be easier?

well . . .

they refused to cash the checks because they were from a bank of america account and bank of america, they said, wouldn't confirm checks for them.

as a result, i went pretty far, to a check cashing place in my old neighborhood where the guy knew me.

but he wasn't there and the girl who was said she couldn't call the company on the weekend and so i was out of luck 'til monday.

the place near where i used to live in kensington (brooklyn), some distance from there, wouldn't cash them because they weren't sent to a nearby address.

so, i went into manhattan, where the nolita place said the computer red flagged the transaction and that was that.

no money. couldn't go out to new jersey to help my father pack for a move as i had planned. foot still hurting from gout.

i decided to take the subway home.

but for some reason, i decided to surface at 14th st./union square rather than immediately changing trains. don't remember why -- maybe i wanted to see if there were good samples at whole foods and/or trader joe's and/or the union square greenmarket.

i guess there were.

but also, there was another check cashing place. one i'd never been to before.

and they said they couldn't cash a check when the the company isn't in their system.

but the company was in their system.

hooray!