It was sorta like the commercial

I know you all have seen the commercial. It is for either MasterCard or Visa. There is a scene (coffee shop, deli or garden supply store) and there is a creative, symbiotic relationship between the people, the product and the assorted retail workers. Its like a Snow White scene for the 21st century.
All the while fueled by copious charging against the aforementioned MasterCard or Visa. It is a happy place where people purchase freely without any issues around budget, need or concern. Until it all comes to a harsh, screeching halt with someone writing a check. And I will admit, I mean, come on... use the debit card. It is easier and faster. But frankly, I have seen each of those commercials more than a dozen times, and while not totally annoyed with them, don't really give them much thought.

Until today after work.

I was at the one maternity store at the mall -- Motherhood, Mimi, something or other. Its a crap store that I wouldn't shop in except for the fact that it is one of the few, affordable options in town. I needed tights.
So I went in, and got the tights and was beat to the register by 3 women. A pregnant woman, her mother and her sister/friend. So they are talking to the woman at the register -- who kept calling them all "Hon" and sharing her horror stories of pregnancy -- she gained 100 lbs with her first kid. So pregnant woman makes her purchase.
Writes a check.
Pregnant womans mother gets a few more things for pregnant daughter.
Writes a check.
Pregnant womans friend/sister buys SOMETHING else for her
And you guessed it..
Writes a check.

So one group of purchases that should have taken less than 5 minutes, takes like 15. Because each on has to show id, get the approval, sign something, write the check and then ask 3 times what the amount was as they couldn't follow her the first 2 times.

It really was like the freakin' commercial. And then I found out why. They weren't from DSM. They were from some small town, like an hour away and had come into "the BIG city" for the day to shop. See I forget that for all the bitching I do about Des Moines, and its size, it is still the largest city in the state. And with few exceptions, if you drive 30 minutes in any direction of DSM, you are in farm country.
Apparently outside of the metro area, you don't use plastic.
Ugh.
New rule: if you are going to plan a shopping trip in the "big city", warm the plastic up.

Now Watching: A Cialis commercial and trying to figure out who in their right mind doesn't know that an erection lasting more than 4 hours is a problem.