ILIGAN City ― A few days ago, I received a check from a friend who owed me money. The amount was just a little over a thousand and without much ado, I just tossed it carelessly in my handbag, which was full of papers and other stuff.

When I read the check for deposit at a bank here, I saw that it got messy. The black ink of a ball pen had smudged its tip, Which had me worried. Will the bank still accept it? Because, you see, banks have become very meticulous these days. Where before, if your check bounced, you still had an early morning deposit the next day so the charges on that would only be minimal.

Also, you are discouraged from using the word, "Cash" as payee. Do you have to write the name of the payee, And dirt on the check itself? That is a no, no.

So, I scolded myself. Oh, why had I been so careless? Why had I just shoved it inside my bag where there were several ball pens and sign pens? Maybe, one of the pens inside had its cover separated from the body. So…

I remember my mother then who described me as somebody who always acts as if I don't have any care in the world. As in "happy-go-lucky." Or "carefree." And she delighted in saying to some friends with a lot of rolling "r"s in the two words. Like carrrre frrrre. And my friends will blame me for that. I also remember her saying that if this precious part of my body could be separated from the rest, I would have lost it!

Many of you know what I am talking about, And a former supervisor who had glanced at my bag when I opened it commented that …

"You've made your bag a 'garbage bag!''

How right they were, it occurred to me. And this darn messy check brought back those memories. Well, this is only a small matter, I told myself. What shall I do now?

I couldn't deposit it to my checking account, because they'll surely notice the dirt at the tip of the check. Maybe I could cut the tip of the check where the smudge was? Or did my friend issue another check? But that was too embarrassing. Has it been encashed by the bank? No. Deposit it via ATM? Some of my friends say that one could deposit there too. Because these cash cards are not only for withdrawing.

But I don't know how. I only know how to withdraw.

Final decision. Deposit it using the bank account which I still use with a passbook. Let me make this clear though. I have only small balances in these accounts, just enough to prevent closures, ha ha ha.

So, I did just that. And during those moments, felt as if I was holding my breath because I was seeing a horror movie.

And then the teller called my name. I kind of play dumb. "Why are you withdrawing this amount of P8,000 when you only have this balance?"

The question made me sigh in relief. "The withdrawal is only for P800. " I said. And then he gave me the duplicate of the deposit slip of the check. My worry was no more then.

As I went out of the bank, I then saw the name of a rural bank across the street which was no more. In its stead was the name of a store, not that bank. And I remember that said the rural bank was a replacement for another bank that got closed too. It occurred to me: what is happening with our financial system? Is it for the better? Or for the worse? And I've heard too that the West as in the United States and allied countries are getting reckless. As in, they are printing more and more money even if they don't have the gold deposits to back it up.

Because the West had become so overconfident. Exchange rates are almost always based on the dollar.

But now, we hear of BRICS. Which stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Of late, they are joined by Egypt, Iraq, Ethiopia, and two others whose names escape me for the moment. And among the things they are contemplating, is not to use the dollar anymore. That is if they hadn't done that yet.

Because America and the western side of the globe had been careless? As in carefree?

Email: nora.lady@yahoo.com or contact 09073384874 | 09277983167