The ladies at our bank probably hate to see me coming.
In recent months, when I walked through the door of the Signal Mountain branch of Regions Bank, there was a 50-50 chance I needed to visit my safe-deposit box.
For the bank tellers, that means physical labor – climbing a ladder in the vault to haul down my safe-deposit box, which is overstuffed with about 15 pounds of papers, coins and photographic negatives.
My late mother, a lifelong banker, schooled me in the virtues of keeping important family papers and heirlooms inside a bank safe. So every time I need a birth certificate, car title or a passport, I show up at the bank.
On one recent visit, I had 30 minutes to kill so I took the safe-deposit box to a little room designed for people who need to inventory their belongings.