The horses were gone. That’s the first thing I noticed the other day as I walked into the lobby of my local branch of one of the nation’s biggest banks. After 15 years of banking there, they were gone. Each teller station used to have an arch above it – all joined like a starting gate at the races – every one crowned with a lovely dark sculpture of a horse head.

When my children were small, we loved to look up at them, especially during the holidays when each horse wore a Santa cap. The horse is something of a local mascot in the area, long known for its equestrian farms.