Banks Don’t Sell Food and We Don’t Cash Checks!

One of my favorite experiences growing up as a young boy 8-9 years of age was traveling with my father and uncle in the big red farm truck to livestock sales. My favorite trip was to travel to a stockyard in central Kentucky where we would stop at a restaurant between Frankfort and Lexington called the Halfway House located on old U.S. Highway 60. At the restaurant, I could look forward to a large hamburger, French fries and a milkshake. A little slice of Heaven. For me, the focus was on the restaurant’s delicious food back in that day. However, one day I noticed a large sign behind the cash register which will always remain in my memory. The sign read as follows: Banks don’t sell food, and we don’t cash checks. Beyond the obvious reason to make clear that the restaurant was in business to sell food, I am sure the practical reason the owner of the restaurant placed the sign near the cash register was to inform customers that the restaurant had no intention of providing banking services and taking personal checks from customers whose bank accounts might not have sufficient funds to cover the check. The restaurant had no desire to take on this additional risk. But for me, the message associated with the sign has taken on a much more important meaning over the years which I will attempt to explain below.

In my opinion, every church, business, and school should have a literal or at least a virtual sign associated with their premises very similar to the sign at the Halfway House Restaurant which should state the focus and mission of the organization. This will make clear to the organization and its constituency why the organization exists and what it intends to accomplish. It also serves as a means of accountability for the organization if is strays from its core objectives.

I have recently reconnected with a couple of high school friends who grew up attending mainline Protestant churches where the Bible was a distant second or third priority for worship with cultural focus and almost anything else placed well ahead. It was no surprise to me that this type of worship experience had little to offer my friends as they raised their families. And it was certainly no surprise that they soon joined an increasing cadre of the unchurched. Thankfully, both of my friends have recently been influenced by their wives and have become involved with non-denominational churches which teach and preach the Bible. Both of my friends now make clear in conversation that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior. I am so thankful that they have become part of churches where the Bible is preached, and the Gospel is shared. Eternity is in the balance.

But keeping the focus on the main thing is not limited to just church. It is almost impossible when reading any national newspaper not to find an article which states that primary and secondary school academic metrics for students in the basics of reading, writing, and math are falling by the wayside. Students are being shortchanged and will suffer the consequences of these academic deficits for the rest of their lives and their work careers and earning potential will be greatly compromised. Not all, but many public-school boards and school districts have determined not to prioritize the important basics of education and instead place the focus on the latest woke cultural issues of the day. Sadly, the children most harmed by this misplaced focus are from disadvantaged backgrounds regardless of their race and the ones most in need of a robust quality education. Progressive Governors such as Kentucky’s Governor Andy Beshear seem tone deaf to this sad reality because of their unwavering allegiance to the teacher union establishment which supports their next political campaign.  Is it any wonder that so many parents are opting for home school, cottage school, classic schools, and where available charter schools?

Corporate America is by no means immune from this discussion. In so many cases, instead of recalibrating their focus and seeking to improve the quality of the goods and services provided to their customers and seeking to better the personal and professional lives of all their employees, the focus has instead been placed on doubling down in worshipping the god of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). I have discussed this in my June 28, 2025 blog post {https://www.ralphwilson1954.com} and in my book Almost Finished. https://a.co/d/03wMk3nk. Is being on the wrong side of an 80/20 issue the right thing to do for Corporate America and its constituents? Is the thinking in many C Suites that all is needed is to “wait out” the Trump Administration and then get back to practicing DEI on steroids when it can be called by its exact name and not some euphemistic name in the SEC filed 10Ks? While it is appropriate to be concerned and to take vigilant and appropriate steps to counter the malevolent cyber activities and misadventures of the Russians and the Chinese who seek to gain computer access and harm American businesses, it is foolish to ignore the great self-inflicted harm that so many American corporations are doing to themselves through their ill-conceived embrace of DEI. Where are the adults in the room as Officers and Directors who will dare to call out the 500-hundred-pound elephant in the room when it comes to this misplaced focus? The time to step up with courage and conviction is now.

God bless you and thank you for the privilege of your time in reading my blog.