Pens & Lollipops

Yesterday I took my elderly gentlemen friend on a few errands he needed to run. My friend is 88 years old and still gets around pretty good, he uses a walking cane. One of his favorite things to do each day is fix himself breakfast which consists of bacon, eggs, grits & two slices of toast. He enjoys a cup of instant coffee afterwards and drinks water which is very important. As we were pulling into the bank, he said "I'll go inside, they might have some pens to giveaway." Not trying to be discouraging, but I responded by saying the drive-through was all clear to keep from having to get out of the car to make it easier on him. He agreed and we proceeded on to the next errand. This got me thinking of the days long ago when you went inside the bank for a transaction and there on the counter would be a mug of pens with the bank's name on them and customers could take one if they like. I also recall a basket or jar of brightly colored lollipops that I would keep my eye on while my mom was conducting her business with the teller. I was hoping the teller would hand me one of the lollipops just before we left the counter and she did. The only thing I had to do was pick the color lollipop I wanted. Then off my mom and I would go on our next errand.
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Nowadays, much of our banking is done online and I bet many people rarely step inside their bank branch. I actually did stop by my bank a few weeks ago and had to go inside. I didn't see any mugs on the counter with pens except the one the teller handed me to fill out some information, I handed it back. I didn't see a basket or jar of lollipops either. Oh well, the walk down memory lane yesterday was sweet enough!