darkness

I had a great poetry teacher once--John Woods--who said each writer could only use the word darkness only 2 times--it's too self-consciously dramatic. But I think I'm allowed the word now.

Yesterday I could not take money out of the ATM machine. This happens, so I wasn't worried, except for the fact that I was down to about $1.50 to my name. Paul and Susan, my colleagues, invited me to dinner, and we stopped at the bank that always works, and it did for them, but not for me. I got a little twinge in my belly. Something wasn't right. Paul and Susan--kindly-- loaned me $4o.oo until I could get money out of the bank. When Mike called me last night (I still can't make international calls from my apartment--the block that doesn't officially exist is still on my phone) I mentioned the trouble to him. He got online and discovered someone(s) in Costa Rica has withdrawn thousands and thousands of dollars from our account in the past few days. There was a lot of money in there because Mike just sent in a large check (outstanding, of course!) to the IRS. The weird thing is that I have my card--it wasn't stolen. The other weird thing is the bank allowed these people to make transaction after transaction--12:29, 12:30, 12:31--until they reached the daily limit. Why allow that? How did the bad guys get the pin? How did they get a card? What will happen now? Mike cancelled the card, but now that leaves me low on money. I can get an advance on my credit card, I guess. And Mike is there in Mpls, trying to clean up the mess.

This is not a small issue, and it brings up all sorts of unpleasant questions. Such a thing could happen anywhere, but it never has happened to me anyplace. I'm very, very cautious here about everything, and was just feeling pleased not to have experienced any "tourist" crimes here. My gut feeling is that, since I used the card at a restaurant where I go all the time just days before all this happened--the only time I've used that card here except to withdraw money--that someone there did this. That makes me even more unhappy, as I sort of know those people.

So, days before I return, I'm out of access to my checking account which has been pretty much drained. Someone in San Jose is having a very good week. And some people in Mpls and Alajuela are not. Do you think the IRS will understand?