Yeah. Piling stuff on another belt so we can bag it ourselves is the norm here as well. I find it fascinating that I will simply pile everything into a haphazard pile on my side of the cashier, but when the cashier scans it, he/she usually piles it up into a very nice and tidy organized group.

I remember when plastic bags became a thing. We were encouraged to use a plastic bag to save a tree.

Many years ago, before identity theft was a thing, my mom (who live with me), had our mail stolen. That day was the day that Oregon was sending out our “kicker checks”, those are refund checks from the Oregon Dept of Revenue, and also the day that my mom’s bank sent out her bank statement.

We found out because I got a letter from the Oregon Dept of Revenue that my kicker check was cashed at a different amount than it was issued. I did get a replacement, but I pointed out to the Oregon Dept of Revenue that the kicker check did have my social security number on it. They agreed and stated that will be the last year that will be a thing.

My mom fared worse, since she had a bank statement that was stolen. The thief went to an office supply store where they sold paper check templates and used the bank account number that the bank helpfully included in full on the bank statement, and printed out fake checks and wrote several at WalMart. To this day my mom is banned from writing checks there.

I never did get the police to care. Identity theft was not a thing at time. They flatly stated that they were not going to even write a report because I was getting a replacement check, so there was no crime.

That never did make sense. If my car gets stolen and the insurance company gets me another one, the thief, if caught, will get charged with something.

Cops will often not do jack shit if it means they have to actually get off their fat mattress and work.