Day 254 Bank Giveaways

August 20, 2015

(If we live with an open and grateful attitude, every day will bring a gift. This is one of 365 gifts during the year I turned 70.)

PNC gift seeds bear blossoms on our back porch.

Banks have been giving away free gifts for many years. Sometimes it is merely candy, something husband David always likes. When I worked at Progress Federal Savings and Loan where my grandfather was president and my uncle was vice-president, customers would get gifts like free umbrellas when they opened an account with a particular minimum amount. I found it amusing that some customers would shuffle around their accounts at various banks so they had a constant flow of free gifts. It was almost a full-time job for freebies.

For the past couple of years, our PNC bank has been giving out flower seeds—cosmos, heirlooms, cornflowers, sunflowers, daisies. What does this say about a business and its philosophy? An umbrella will last until the wind huffs and puffs. Candy is instant gratification that disappears down the toilet and leaves a red (or other color) tongue. Seeds, however, represent an understanding of beginnings, roots, beauty and the future. Think about it. A tiny seed, nothing special to the eye, has the power to grow and to continue year after year.

When daughter Lauren was in elementary school, the age when children give presents to their teachers, one year she gave an envelope of marigold seeds to her teachers. A note was included about how seeds are connected with immortality. You plant. The seed grows. If they are perennials, they continue to grow every year. If they are annuals, you harvest the seeds and plant them next year. A gift that keeps on giving.

My gift today is a piece of immortality.

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> Anything Goes

You can find links to my other posts on this project here:

http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html