Have you tried unplugging it?
It was the day after Thanksgiving 2009 and Aaron and I had spent the holiday in near Portsmouth, Ohio with his extended family. I was pregnant with our first kiddo (Max). After the harrowing morning McDonald’s experience (story to come later!), I was anxious to get to the game and see the Illini beat the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Narrator: But that was NOT what would happen on this day.
😂 So anyway… I’m pregnant and hungry of course, so at halftime, we go up to the concourse to get some food. Bear in mind this was 2009, so the vendors only took cash, no cards. So like everyone else that day, we got in line at the ATM. The huge, dozen-person line. Ugh.
Then we start hearing murmurs… the machine isn’t working. No one’s getting any cash. No news on how far away the next ATM is. Outlook bleak! Hormones already raging and preggo is HANGRY.
People start peeling off the line left and right. I stay in line because I’m going to at least give it the ol’ college try.
Finally we get up to the machine, and sure enough, blue screen of death. But my wheels start turning… this looks just like the dreaded blue screen of death on my PC back at home, right?
The ACTUAL ATM in question, Nov. 2009
I start snooping around. There’s a cord. Then I spot the plug, behind the machine, but easily within reach. I tell Aaron to be my lookout for the cops who were several yards away, and I make my move.
I run to the side, and unplug the machine. Silently count to 10, plug it back in. Then we wait.
It appears to be restarting and booting up. But we’re not out of the woods yet. Will it work the way it’s supposed to? Does some bank person have to put in a code or something? Maybe there’s a silent bank alarm attached to it (LOL - I don’t know these things!).
Then, the PNC logo appears. Yes! Then what to my wondering eyes should appear? The ATM start screen! WE ARE IN BUSINESS!!!
I put in my card, my PIN, get my cash, and alert those few people in line who decided to stick around. There was much cheering and applause!
Next we moved over to the foodstand line where I happily get some food for my belly, and all was well! And I have a very vivid, fond memory to stick with me the rest of my life.
There’s a life lesson here too — sometimes you just need a hard reset, a fresh start, remember that each day is a new day. Unplug (literally or figuratively!), take a deep breath, see what a reboot can do for you.
Every so often I think back to a story from my life that would be one to remember for a future memoir. This story is definitely one of those I will remember forever.