Dear Reader Column 05-22-19

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Dear Reader,

It happened again...

I hate it when it happens. I'm in the checkout line, my groceries are bagged, the clerk tells me to insert my credit card into the machine and the clerk and I wait, and we wait. The line behind me is getting longer, the clerk is tapping her pen waiting for the "approved" response, but instead "DEADBEAT" flashes across the screen. Well, that's not really what the message says, but that's what I feel like it says.

"This card is declined." The clerk is looking at the long line behind me. "Do you have another credit card I could try?"

"No, I don't. But really," I tell her, "there is money on my card. Believe me--I pay it off every month. The credit card company has obviously made a mistake. They even sent me a letter last week wanting to increase my credit line. There's plenty of money. Really there is."

But I can tell from the look on the cashier's face, she's not sold. Reality sets in and I retreat a bit, "I bet that's what everyone says to you, don't they?" She nods.

By now everyone in line and within 10 feet of me has taken a shopping respite, quite entertained by my pleas of innocence, delivering a stellar performance, ratcheting each line up a notch, without going over the top. (Somehow I think that volume increases believability--it doesn't.)

My purchase is voided and I'm led away to the service desk, so I can contact my credit card company. Twenty minutes later--ten minutes of that time on hold--I'm proven innocent. All charges are dropped. But by this time the original "jurors" have all left the store, even the cashier went home for the day, so there are no witnesses to hear about being innocent.

So the "Not guilty" verdict is a bit of letdown, because I was really looking forward to making an official announcement to somebody, so maybe that's why I'm writing about it today, proclaiming...

"I am innocent. There is plenty of money available on my credit card."

Ah, that felt good...thanks for listening.

* Congratulations to Sarah J., the winner of Forgotten Bookmarks: A Bookseller's Collection of Odd Things Lost Between the Pages by Michael Popek.

And the winners of a signed copy of The King's Mercy by Guest Author Lori Benton are: Merrill H., Brenda B. and Dorine D. Your books will be in the mail soon.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

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This month's Penguin Classics book is THE STONEWALL READER, by the New York Public Library, and including a foreword by Edmund White. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading today and enter for your chance to win.

Comments

[Linda Freedman]

Hi Suzanne,
I think many of us can identify with this column. I have had my ATM card denied many times. And it is always my fault. I HATE math, so I never keep track of how many times I have used it. I GUESS at how much money is still available. My husband has given me the “just deduct as you go” talk many times. I do have a credit card back up, so I only cause a momentary halt in the flow of shoppers. But I do feel their judgment! And I do feel the need to plead my case, as phony as it may be. “That’s what happens when you have been shopping all day.” It is a big lie. The truth is I only shopped in one store. I could have easily done the MATH from other trips on other days!

Thank you for keeping it real and honest,
Linda F.
Cheshire, CT

[Suzanne Beecher]

Linda,

Thanks for your story. I know your husband says just keep track, but when you're out enjoying looking and shopping a break in the day, who wants to think about math? I'm with you on that.

Have a delightful weekend.

Suzanne Beecher