I met Santa Claus...

I had a check that I really, really needed to turn into cash. I bank with USAA, and do not (nor have I ever) had a single credit card..even with them. This is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it keeps me out of debt. A curse because it can take up to 3 weeks from the date I mail a check to them before it shows up in my account. Usually not a problem. Yesterday? Big Problem. But, I digress... By the time my friend was able to get off work and drive the half hour it takes to get to my house, our options were fairly limited. I was also dealing with a 2 party check and only had a copy of the 2nd persons ID to prove the validity so I kinda figured I was going to be SOL.

After being shot down twice, my friend said he knew of a place in Ft. Worth that was still open so we took off. (Mind you, my children were also grumbling in the backseat and demanding McDonalds as though they owned me!) Over an hour and a half after we originally left the house, we finally pulled up to a gas station. And, I'm looking at my friend like he's gone twice baked potato on me. Because really? A gas station?

We went inside and it's dingy. And, dirty. And, I wanted to take my babies and run. But, not in that neighborhood! The guy behind the counter barely spoke English, but made it clear that he didn't care about the 2nd party on the check. "Give me Check!"
After looking it over, he told me that he couldn't cash it because it was dated November 11, 2008. And, it's now December. Hu-What? I, of course, started explaining to him that the check had to first reach one destination, be signed by party #1 then mailed to me, where I've had to wait for an opportunity to leave the house and get it cashed. I was interrupted by my friend, (who I've known for 8 years and thought I knew all of his friends, and their friends, and blah blah blah) He told the guy behind the counter, "Ricky said to cash that check." To which counter guy straightened up, blinked, and said "You verify that?" My friend pulled out his cell phone and called 'Ricky' who talked to counter guy briefly before hanging up. My check was cashed with no more questions, while my friend took the kiddos back to his truck.

Afterwards, instead of driving back towards the highway, we pulled into a landscaping parking lot where there was another truck waiting. With 'Ricky' inside.
I said my (still bewildered) Thank You's. But I swear, that wasn't Ricky. It was Santa Claus. He had the beard and everything.
I didn't find out until we were already headed back to my house, Santa had co-signed my check! I've never met this man, but he told the guy behind the counter to cash my check, and he'd cover any problems if they arose. (I'm assuming I'm not the first person he's done this for, as the guy behind the counter didn't hesitate once he got the go-ahead.)

So. Yep. Santa saved my a$$. The real deal, and you can't convince me any differently. Straight jackets be damned, I'll be waiting on the roof with cookies and hot cocoa this year!~