THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 25, 1994 TAG: 9409220647
SECTION: HAMPTON ROADS WOMAN PAGE: 11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARCIA MANGUM, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
SOME 2-year-olds would balk at going to the bank, but my daughter ranks banks right up there with playgrounds and zoos.
I don't know if it's part of First Virginia's official training program or if it just comes naturally, but the women at our bank have a way with children.
On mornings when I say we have to go to the bank, Rosie runs for the door. ``Will they give me a sucker?'' she asks before we're even to the car.
``I think they will if you're a nice girl,'' I reply, not that I could really stop the sucker-giving ritual if I tried.
``Will I see Paula?'' Rosie asks.
``Not this morning,'' I say. ``We're going to the other bank.''
``Miss Bea's bank?'' she asks.
``Well, the one where Miss Bea used to work, but she's not there anymore. You can see Gwen and Eileen and the other women,'' I explain.
``Will she give me a sucker?''
Yes, her love for banks is largely linked to the employees' generosity with suckers, but I think she'd like it even without the sweet treats, because they make such a fuss over her.
Before we moved from Willoughby Spit, we banked at the Ocean View Shopping Center branch of First Virginia, the only bank in the area but fortunately a good neighborhood bank.
Long before my daughter was able to eat suckers, the employees treated Rosie like she was special. They'd smile and wave and say bye-bye and carry on, just like any adoring aunt or grandma.
I can't begin to name all the friendly women, for fear I'd overlook someone's kindness, but there's one I can't overlook. Paula. I'm not sure what her title is at the bank, but she has a desk, and from the time Rosie could walk, she'd head straight for Paula's desk.
Even if Paula were busy, she'd take time to pull the box of suckers from under her desk and give Rosie one. If she weren't with a customer, Paula would pick Rosie up and talk to her or let her type on her typewriter.
Then there were the special treats, the day Paula sat Rosie up in a chair by her desk and brought her one of the office doughnuts and a cup of water. Or the morning she took Rosie out to feed the ducks that came to nest beside the bank every spring.
This spring, when I was six months pregnant, we moved to Lafayette-Winona. Rosie and I were both sad to leave our friends, but Paula assured us that Bea would be just as friendly at the branch in our new neighborhood.
Indeed, everyone is friendly. The suckers and smiles are doled out with generosity, and Rosie feels right at home.
But the women at Ocean View had asked Rosie to come back and show them her new baby sister after she was born, so we made a return trip. While I was getting baby Anna out of the car, Paula ran out the front door to hold Rosie's hand and walk inside with her.
Rosie introduced her sister Anna to everyone, and, naturally, the women made a fuss over both girls.
Rosie finished her sucker and climbed up on her favorite window ledge behind a chair. ``I haven't climbed here in a long time'' she said, happy as ever.
Now we mostly bank at the Tidewater branch, but the kindness continues. Recently Bea left the bank, to spend more time with her children, I was told. She'll be missed, but already there's someone to take her place.
I was standing at the teller window with Anna in her carrier on the floor beside me and Rosie behind me eating her sucker, when I heard a woman bending over Anna saying, ``Oh, look at the baby. Isn't she cute? Is this your sister? What's her name?''
Sure enough, it was the latest hire. It must be the training. by CNB