e same to me. i wondered how many pizzas never got delivered

that night as he left. maybe i should order another one soon.

the end.

-- -

@$95,093.35 adventure

$95,093.35 adventure, part i depositing the junk mail check

on may 19, 1995, i was one of thousands of people around the country who received a 'junk mail' letter touting a get-rich-quick method for making $95,093.35 in just three weeks. that letter also came with a sample check for the same amount--$95,093.35. everything about the check looked real except for the words "non-negotiable for cash" printed in the top right-hand corner. i look at the check and think, my god, it looks so real. the letter reads, "patrick combs, i expected to hear from you by now. take a close look at the check above. it's just a sample of the money you could be receiving my now." i think, sample? like a cookie sample at mrs. fields - it's a real cookie, but it's just a sample. the letter went on:

"we took in that amount in just three weeks. other mail boxes have also made hundreds of thousands of dollars. in fact, your mail box, at 326 howard street, could be soon be stuffed full of checks in varying amounts and free merchandise. now i've written to you several times before about an exciting new money making opportunity. the one that said, 95,093.35 in just three weeks. the same one that was featured on tv! and frankly i'm surprised i haven't heard from you yet. patrick, i know what you must be thinking, "is this for real?" let me assure you, it is very real."

that's all i needed to know to take this check and deposit it into my atm.

now, i didn't believe it was a real check, but it was fun, like putting monopoly money into the bank. and i knew my bank would never cash the check, especially since i didn't even sign on the back. i walked home picturing a bank teller opening my deposit envelope and chuckling at the sight of the ridiculously large, and obviously bogus check. i fully expected that on monday morning someone from my bank would call and say, "mr. combs, the check you deposited on friday wasn't real."

on monday when they didn't call, i figured they were mailing the check back to me and i forgot about the whole thing.

then two days later, while i was withdrawing $40, my atm produced a receipt that told me my balance was over one hundred thousand dollars. suddenly i remembered the $95,093.35 deposit.

my heart lept out of my chest. i ran all the way home (the most exercise i'd gotten in months!). as soon as i got in, i called a friend and told her what had happened. she made a quick phone call to his own bank and called me back. "it's standard policy to credit your account for any amount you deposit, but it's only a credit. you can't touch the money unless the check clears."

of course. it was just a matter of days before the bank would erase the credit and return my account to a mere $5,000. i figured it would be the week of my life when i had a one hundred thousand dollar bank balance. and i took full advantage of it by printing out lots of bank balance statements, and sharing them with my friends. i.e, "need my phone number? i'll just write it here on the back of my atm receipt." without fail, it would always prompt a great conversation.

it was also very entertaining to call my twenty four hour banking line, and listen to my bank balance. i did twice, three times, four times a day. to my surprise, it remained at over a hundred grand, all week long. i was thinking, that check should have been bounced by now.

friday morning, i went to my bank, a branch of first interstate, approached a teller, and posed this question: "if i need a cashier's check for $70,000 later this afternoon, do i have the funds available?"

the teller typed my account number into her computer. "yes," she said, "the money is available." i said, "are you sure there is not a warning sign, a flashing light, an asterisk or something?" she assured me there wasn't.

i got out of the bank fast. i felt supercharged with possibility and shock.

from that moment until the next wednesday, when i boarded a plane for a four-day career-counseling conference in orlando (i make my living as an author and speaker addressing career success), $95,093.35 was available for withdrawal from my account. my close friends and i contemplated, for fun, all the possibilities a hundred grand afforded. "to leave the country or not to leave: that is the question."

i knew that the money was going to be taken out of my account, and each day i figured it would happen tomorrow. i boarded my flight to orlando confident--and glad, really--that in all likelihood the money would be gone upon my return. it had already possessed my thoughts for a week.

on monday, the day after my return, i called for my account balance. five thousand and something dollars was what i expected to hear. what i did hear was over $100,000.

what was happening? two weeks and that money