Southbound and down

It was like a white-collar, upper-Midwest version of Smokey and the Bandit -- all I needed was Sally Field riding shotgun and Jackie Gleason chasing me.

The closing of our home on Pleasant St. went off without a hitch on Friday May 25, and the proceeds were deposited in our Massachusetts bank account the following Tuesday -- plenty of time, we thought, to have the money transferred to our new Minnesota bank account in time for our closing on Friday June 1.

Silly us. Nothing so seemingly simple ever is. Turns out the wiring of so large a sum is not a simple thing -- there are rules, regulations, restrictions and, of course, fees and more fees involved. We were told that the only way to make sure we had a cashier's check in hand for our closing was for one of us to drive to the closest Bank of America branch and get one.

That's how I found myself on the road at 6am Friday morning, headed for Mason City, Iowa.

I logged an awful lot of miles in my Indiana days, and this trip reminded me very much of that -- miles upon miles of wide open spaces, farmland as far as the eye could see, and not much to choose from on the radio. In fact, after my CD of choice ended as I near the Iowa state line, I committed to listening to the first station I came across on the dial (at least until I arrived at the bank). It turned out to be the local affiliate of the American Family Radio Network -- lots of songs featuring lambs, rivers and light.

I reached Mason City at 8am on the nose and found the bank branch 5 minutes later. Having just short of 30 minutes to kill before it opened, I decided to get my oil changed at the Jiffy Lube next door. Had a fun time telling my story to the guys who work there as well, as the older Michigan couple who was having their car serviced.

I stepped into the BOA branch at 8:30am and waited for the teller -- "Bobbie Jo," by her name tag -- to finished up with an elderly gentleman she referred to as "Marshall." Throughout my short time there, I didn't hear one "How can I help you?" or explanation of what banking service was needed. Every bit of talk was a pleasantry of some kind:

• "How y'all doin' this morning?"
• "Where's that fine granddaughter of yours?"
• etc.

When I explained to Bobbie Jo that I needed a sizable cashier's check, she immediately said, "Oh, closing on a house today, are we?" Again, flashbacks to Indiana, where every small town is just like that. Bobbie Jo fixed me up in short order and I was back on the road by 8:50am, just enough time to make the 11am closing.

Kim and the girls pulled in to the parking lot not 2 minutes after I did, and we were soon signing away across the table from the former owners of our new residence. A very nice couple who were headed back to their native Wisconsin, they gave us the names of three potential babysitters in the neighborhood, wished us the very best and gave us the keys to our family's second home.