I can't make out the letters
Jun. 30th, 2009 04:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matthewdalyI got a piece of mail over the weekend that left me scratching my head and thinking that maybe I should blog about it because AKICODW, to coin a phrase. And today I now have a new entry in the "most curious letter I have ever received" category.
The first one first. I bank with a local credit union, and am highly satisfied with the lack of drama and headgames that commercial banks can tend to provide. When I started my relationship with them probably ten years ago, one of the decisions that I made was that I wanted my ATM card to not have debit card powers, to reduce my hassles should the card be stolen and because I already had a credit card that I could use for purchases. That turns out to be the sort of simplistic life choice that has brought me peace over the years, first when my wallet was lost and then again when the stories have erupted about skimming at TJ Maxx and hackers modifying ATMs and the ridiculously lax data protocol that debit cards use and how they seem to be the number one vector for identity theft. I try not to be anxious about this sort of thing, but I could go either way on debit cards and ultimately prefer not to have one.
So I just get a letter from my bank encouraging me to upgrade to a debit card because it's so convenient and cash is so last week and all that. Except that they're so dedicated to it that they're willing to offer me a $10 gift card to make the switch. And I suppose I'm inclined to take that deal because I doubt I'd ever use it in an unsafe place and of course there are anti-fraud protections should the worst ever come to pass, but it's left me very curious about why my bank is so eager to have me on board. They wouldn't offer me such a nice incentive unless they were going to make it back someday; is that from me or are they hoping on collecting $10 worth of service fees from all of the times that I use the card to do my grocery shopping or whatever?
And now for the main event. A woman in town whose name I don't recognize just sent me a handwritten condolence note for "the loss of your loved one" and going on to speak about the peace that the Bible provides at a time like this, adding in a few of her favorite verses of reassurance, and a Jehavah's Witness tract. And that would be surreal enough on its own (although sweet in that off-center but earnest Jehovah's Witness way), but I actually don't know which loved one she is thinking of. And no contact information, aside from the return address on the letter, so it's not drawing me closer to their church even if I did happen somehow to be in mourning. I'm not expert on forensics, but if this isn't a handwritten letter someone went to a lot of trouble to make it look like one.
Wow. Having written all that, I decided to check out the local online obituaries for the lulz, and it turns out that an unrelated (or at least very distantly related) Thomas Daly passed away in the suburbs last week and was survived by his son Matthew, who is not listed in the phone book. I guess I have to get used to the fact that my name isn't all that unusual, but I didn't realize that I'm not even the only one in the county. I hope he is doing okay, although I think that I will spare him this very impersonal condolence letter.
The first one first. I bank with a local credit union, and am highly satisfied with the lack of drama and headgames that commercial banks can tend to provide. When I started my relationship with them probably ten years ago, one of the decisions that I made was that I wanted my ATM card to not have debit card powers, to reduce my hassles should the card be stolen and because I already had a credit card that I could use for purchases. That turns out to be the sort of simplistic life choice that has brought me peace over the years, first when my wallet was lost and then again when the stories have erupted about skimming at TJ Maxx and hackers modifying ATMs and the ridiculously lax data protocol that debit cards use and how they seem to be the number one vector for identity theft. I try not to be anxious about this sort of thing, but I could go either way on debit cards and ultimately prefer not to have one.
So I just get a letter from my bank encouraging me to upgrade to a debit card because it's so convenient and cash is so last week and all that. Except that they're so dedicated to it that they're willing to offer me a $10 gift card to make the switch. And I suppose I'm inclined to take that deal because I doubt I'd ever use it in an unsafe place and of course there are anti-fraud protections should the worst ever come to pass, but it's left me very curious about why my bank is so eager to have me on board. They wouldn't offer me such a nice incentive unless they were going to make it back someday; is that from me or are they hoping on collecting $10 worth of service fees from all of the times that I use the card to do my grocery shopping or whatever?
And now for the main event. A woman in town whose name I don't recognize just sent me a handwritten condolence note for "the loss of your loved one" and going on to speak about the peace that the Bible provides at a time like this, adding in a few of her favorite verses of reassurance, and a Jehavah's Witness tract. And that would be surreal enough on its own (although sweet in that off-center but earnest Jehovah's Witness way), but I actually don't know which loved one she is thinking of. And no contact information, aside from the return address on the letter, so it's not drawing me closer to their church even if I did happen somehow to be in mourning. I'm not expert on forensics, but if this isn't a handwritten letter someone went to a lot of trouble to make it look like one.
Wow. Having written all that, I decided to check out the local online obituaries for the lulz, and it turns out that an unrelated (or at least very distantly related) Thomas Daly passed away in the suburbs last week and was survived by his son Matthew, who is not listed in the phone book. I guess I have to get used to the fact that my name isn't all that unusual, but I didn't realize that I'm not even the only one in the county. I hope he is doing okay, although I think that I will spare him this very impersonal condolence letter.
