This morning, I had two birthday cards to mail out to my granddaughters. The envelopes cautioned that they might require extra postage, so I decided to take them to the little post office. The area is so sparsely populated that the post mistress is only there from 8 - 12. The locking post boxes are on the front porch.
So I scooted over with my cards. We put up our mail box at the end of the driveway, and wanted to find out how we went about setting up delivery. I also needed a book of stamps.
She greeted me cheerfully, and calculated the extra postage required as we talked about setting up mail delivery. I finished up with '...and can I get a book of stamps while I'm at it,' as I pulled out my debit card.
She cheerfully said, 'I can't take a card. No internet. I am supposed to be getting a new modem tomorrow.'
I was mortified, because I didn't even have 59 cents on me for the extra postage she had already affixed to the two cards that she'd tossed with the outgoing mail. 'Gees,' I said, looking at the clock. 'Let me run home...' I still had ten minutes before she closed up shop.
She waved her hand as she reached in her pocket. 'Don't worry about. Drop it off the next time you are passing by.'
It is different here.
In small places they know where to find you! I don't live in that kind of area but people are sometimes generous and help out with money shortages anyway.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a small town like that, every one knew each other and stopped to say hello. My school had all 12 grades in one two story brick building. The school had maybe 250 students all together. A lot of them were farm kids like me that were bussed in. There were farm trucks in the parking lot and very few cars. I loved the lifestyle. Most high school boys smelled like hay or cows and some girls. I love the country life. I went to dinner last night with my family, my son in law is sixth generation farmer in our town here in Florida. I grew up in Ohio and ended up down here.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet small-town moment! It’s rare these days to find that kind of trust and kindness. Helping someone in needs is a amazing and adventure
ReplyDeleteHow nice that trust and kindness are still the norm in some parts of the country. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteWell, she DOES know where you live!
ReplyDeleteCeci
For the sake of losing 59 cents from her pocket, which I'm sure she won't, she created a decent amount of happiness and goodwill. How nice it would be if the whole world worked like that.
ReplyDelete