Respecter of Persons

Here's a good story about being a respecter or, should I say, a disrespecter of persons:

John Barrier didn't like the way a bank manager in Spokane, WA, looked at him - like he'd "crawled out from under a rock" because of his dirty construction clothes. So Barrier, who just wanted a parking slip validated, took his money and left - $1 million at a time.

It began when Barrier, 59, went to Old National Bank to cash a $100 check. When he tried to validate the slip to save 60 cents, a receptionist refused, saying he hadn't conducted a transaction. "She said you have to make a deposit," he says. "I told her I'm considered a substantial depositor and she looked at me like…well."

He asked to see the manager, who also refused to stamp the ticket. Barrier went to the bank headquarters vowing to withdraw his $2 million-plus unless the manager apologized. No call came. "So the next day I went over and the first amount I took out was $1 million."

"But if you have $100 in a bank or $1 million," he says, "I think they owe you the courtesy of stamping your parking ticket."

-By Elisa Tinsley, USA Today