HOME TOWN
June 8, 2009
I love my small
little town. Almost everyone is your
friend and knows your secrets-or think they do.
If not, they might make up and embellish the rest. A recent incident in our post office might
indicate our mentality. A friend of
mine, Ed, needed a passport. He was told
to get one at the post office. He made
an appointment. He arrived at 1:45
thinking his appointment was at 2:00. He noticed there were no customers as he
approached the counter. The woman behind
the counter informed him his appointment was at 3:00. He noted the empty lobby, but did as he was
told and returned at 3:00. He had
previously filled out the paperwork and handed it to her. She asked for his drivers' license. He lifted it out of his wallet and handed it
to her. She made a copy of it, asked him
a few questions. He paid the fee. "Am I done?"
"Yep, that's
it." This procedure took all of 5
minutes. Good thing he had an appointment. As he was leaving, a gentleman entered the
lobby seeking information. He said he
and his wife were here from Germany and looking for a relative living in this
area. The postman said he didn't
recognize the name. Ed said, "I
worked with a man by that name. Come on
out to my care. I have a phone book
there and I'll look it up for you."
They walked out to the car; Ed found the name and address. He offered his cell phone to the man so he
could call the number. Ed was telling
him how to get to the address and then said, "Look, follow me. It will be easier."
The other day I
needed postage stamps. I drove to the
post office.
"I need a
book of stamps, please."
The postal clerk pulled out a sheet of stamps and handed it to
me. As he was scanning them and ringing
them up, I glanced down at the stamps.
They were Homer Simpson stamps. I
started to say I wanted something else, but he was almost done and I decided
"Oh well." I got in my car and
realized I had a sympathy card and a get well card to mail. Homer Simpson seemed definitely not
appropriate. The next day I marched into
the post office and exchanged them. They
were replaced with Forever stamps.
I look forward to
my next adventure in my small town.
Joanne Murray is my cousin. She sent me a book her son made
for her 75th Birthday. It contained essays that Joanne had written.
In the interest of bias, I am definitely biased so let's get that out of the
way. But once you and I get passed my bias you come to realize as I have
that these essays are something very special especially to her family and THAT
IS THE POINT. As I read them the one of many thoughts that crept into my
mind was "why haven't I been doing this?" Why indeed!
These are thoughts of a daughter, a granddaughter, a mother, a wife, a cousin
(like in my case), an aunt etc. Most who will read these essays have that
in common with Joanne. There are people you know who might enjoy knowing
what you think and what experiences you have been exposed to. Wouldn't it
be nice if you let them know by writing them down as my cousin Joanne has
done. It's never too late to get started. I will be posting them
here about one a week and do so with Joanne's permission. Hope you keep
coming back. Leave your comments below. Jim
"Gymbeaux" Brown
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