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.
ReplyDeleteThat is the village attitude not the town jobsworth
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your new way of life and hang on to the old one a bit, when you have to carry cash around as well as a piece of plastic.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like my kind of place you have there - no mistrust, no drama, just common sense.
ReplyDeleteThere is still trust in some places in the world. All is not yet lost.
ReplyDeleteI can but won’t (because I am sure that I blogged about it then but can’t find it now) relate a somewhat similar incident shortly after we moved to this town.
ReplyDeleteI echo what GZ said.
ReplyDeleteSounds like John's village! I am glad to know this still exists in the USA
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like my little town. Trust boxes at the farm stand, people saying pay me next time you're here, mailman bringing packages to hand deliver, making sure I get my meds. It's nice. I didn't realize you'd moved far, thought it was just across town.
ReplyDeleteThe new house is 1/2 hour from the old house. very rural. We can see one neighbor's house from our own. Unless you are counting the 100 or so neighbors directly across from us. The cemetery is pretty quiet though.
ReplyDeleteNow you know to carry a little cash in case the internet is down. Nice customer service!
ReplyDeleteI have had the exact same experience at the post office here. It is tiny and service is very personal.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely not something that happens very often. How wonderful! :)
ReplyDeleteOh, that was nice. Maybe the USPS needs to think about phasing out modems and putting in some WiFi. :)
ReplyDeleteI am actually using the wrong word. It is a router she was waiting for.😃
ReplyDeleteSounds like here! Don't you love it?
ReplyDeleteAlso, send me your address and I will send you a roll of stamps. Did you know you can get 1000 stamps for about $50 on ebay? So I now have a lifetime supply!