A minor "oops" from payroll and I had to get a real check instead of direct deposit, which meant a trip to the bank.

Sure, I could have deposited the funds via ATM, but I needed a little more cash than the machine would have let me withdraw. No biggie, I just stood in line for a while longer than I wanted to, but not unbearably so. The teller was friendly, and after a little poking into my account, she gave me the extra cash from my check I needed and sent me on my way.

On the way out, I was offered a little pocket calendar. It'd been some time since I'd been in the bank, even longer since I'd been inside near the end of the year. I'd forgotten they provide such goodies. I thought for a moment I'd rather have a wall calendar, but then thought more that I don't even use the one that's on the 'fridge now. I carry a Palm Pilot, so a paper calendar is a little unnecessary for me, but I'll give it to the girl child or something.

As I sit here with it on my desk at work, I reflected to all of the times I was given a little appointment or address book by someone. I'm not foolish enough to think that my kid will get the same little thrill or use the book for any extended period.

I remember whenever I was given a new book for the next year dutifully transferring the still-valid phone numbers and birthdays, making corrections where necessary. The good books, like the one I got today, have a month or two of overlap before or after their content year; this one has December 2005 and January 2007 in it. This one just has a couple pages for names and phone numbers, but conveniently has a place for e-mail addresses.

There's also the tidbits of odd information. There's a map of the US with the states drawn out (except Alaska, but including Pyerto Rico), separated by timezones (Alaska's is noted), and even a rough outline for the area codes (only eight states have just one; although Alaska may as it is not noted). There's a conversion table for standard to metric measures, including "avoirdupois measure" (means weight--I hadda look it up, too). There's even a selection of convenient numbers and websites for a variety of businesses including airlines and hotels; as a kid I would have just wondered at how many there are, but now I wonder how they went about securing the rights to use the information, or how much they thought of charging for the honor of being included.

At the front of the book is a place to enter my personal information. As a kid I would have, although I now scoff at the idea of entering anything more than my name, if that. I can just see the studious bank visitor receiving their new calendar, returning home to dutifully transfer their information, including their personal and emergency contact information in the event of some kind of tragedy while they're in possession of their calendar booklet. I'm sure they're out there, and I think their booklets are probably as important to them now as mine were when I was a kid.