In a previous life, I worked for the giant Bank of Boston.,…The Greatest Bank in the History of the World.
Although I had been in banking and customer service in the past, truth be told, I wouldn’t have gotten into the job without the influence of my uncle, Bud Colbert. He was a retired bank president who still knew people and he made a call on my behalf. It’s called White Privilege and it’s been working great for me. If you can afford to be white, I highly recommend it.
Anyway, I mean it… BKB was a very good company to work for as far as big companies go. Good pay, good benefits. It was very highly respected. The oldest bank in America and proud of it. It showed. I’m not blowing smoke. I’m still not crazy about everything they did or the banking industry as a whole, but for banks at that time and place… It was hands down the best.
I had fun.. Of course I did.. I was in my mid-twenties, single, living in Boston, seeing Phish every chance I got. More stuff I can’t remember or talk about. But what made the bank special for me were my co-workers. We were split into small teams and I had the best one. We had fun despite the fact we were talking to people about money and banking all day. I think the dryness of our jobs made the moments in between calls that much more absurd… as a way to balance the day.
When I put the blue plastic Lego tub full of memories and letters in my sister’s basement, I didn’t think of it as a time capsule, … but it very much is. I found this; Volume 2, Issue 2 of The General Ledger. It was the inter-office newsletter of the Small Business Banking Customer Service Department. I’m not proud of it… but I did the cartoon. It wasn’t even funny at the time and my ability to draw rivals that of a four year old. But the whole thing is a treasure. So much work and effort and… I’ll say it… Love that went into the making of a small, inter-office newsletter. That’s hard to find today.
These are the pages:
