tarheel91 on 11 November 2007
About the pillow case thing, stashing their money instead of putting it in the bank is a pretty common thing for old people. It originated as a result of the paranoia about a Depression repeat. People were afraid of banks and thus kept the money hidden instead of depositing it. My grandpa's dad kept all his money in his mattress and would take it out whenever he needed something. He bought everything with pure cash. I heard a story about him buying a car completely with cash in the 50's. I'm guessing it's the same distrust of the banking system that created the situation in the news story.
