ever have a nightmare playing itself out in real life?
as a kid I had three recurring nightmares. one was about being trapped inside a soap bubble, another was about a revolving bookcase that swung around with a dead body on the other side, and my most popular whacked out dream was that my teeth started falling out one by one.
the other day i was delivering to the very last house on my route. i was there at my usual time, around 3:45. they were having a garage sale and someone parked in front of their box, so i got out to bring the mail to my customer who was in her garage watching over her sale items. we had never really met each other so I introduced myself. she was a nice enough lady. we made some small talk, while another person entered her garage..(by the way it's a one car garage). Out of the corner of my eye i could see just enough of this peson to identify her as none other than MS. RIBBLE!..
The absolute last person i want to be jammed into a small space of any kind with..let alone a garage sale at ( gasp!) 3:45 pm!!! I could see the thought bubble over her head and it said " Yep..it figures..she's slacking off again..shopping when she's supposed to be working . No wonder our mail is always so late !!! (Harumph!).
I exited rapidly..glad to escape from that nightmare.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Mrs. H
I met her over 15 years ago while covering a postal buddy's route while he was on vacation.
Mrs. H was probably in her 90's and living quite happily alone . I think she had some family in town that would check on her, as did my postal buddy.
When I came to her house , I would make a lot of noise while putting her mail in the box to get her attention. I just wanted to make sure she was up and around.
I remember talking to her a few times. She said one thing to me that I will never forget.
Like probably everyone else that encountered her, I was curious to know her secret for keeping so vibrantly healthy after all these years.
This was her advice:" Stay away from fruits and vegetables!!! Just eat the stuff that you really enjoy"! I was awestruck! Her advice stands as one of the most wonderful things I have ever heard come out of anyone's mouth.
From time to time, as I consume some completely decadent delight, I hear her words bouncing around my brain and feel absolutely no guilt whatsoever. Thanks for that small gift Mrs. H...wherever you are.
Mrs. H was probably in her 90's and living quite happily alone . I think she had some family in town that would check on her, as did my postal buddy.
When I came to her house , I would make a lot of noise while putting her mail in the box to get her attention. I just wanted to make sure she was up and around.
I remember talking to her a few times. She said one thing to me that I will never forget.
Like probably everyone else that encountered her, I was curious to know her secret for keeping so vibrantly healthy after all these years.
This was her advice:" Stay away from fruits and vegetables!!! Just eat the stuff that you really enjoy"! I was awestruck! Her advice stands as one of the most wonderful things I have ever heard come out of anyone's mouth.
From time to time, as I consume some completely decadent delight, I hear her words bouncing around my brain and feel absolutely no guilt whatsoever. Thanks for that small gift Mrs. H...wherever you are.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
mrs. T
I remember Mrs. T from 10 years ago when I used to cover her route once a week on the regular mailman's day off. For some reason I had it in my head that she was a complainer ..or at least... a customer to be leery of.
She is now my customer and officially becoming one of my favorites.
We started off well. Probably because her last carrier paved the way for me.
When I took over for Brian, she was very welcoming, and I was very surprised.
The key to our relationship now seems to be that her little dog likes me. She took that as a good sign.
On saturday we had our first extended conversation...and it was nothing short of a revelation.
She seems to be one that plays her cards close to the vest..not one to disclose much about her life.. but I think I hit her at the right time.
The more she talked, the more completely blown away I became.
I knew that her husband died a few years ago after a very long illness. What I didn't know was that within 2 weeks of his death, she signed up to go back to college after about a 60 year hiatus. She wound up getting her degree at 80 years old. She plays the trombone in a senior citizen band, she's taking a music course at a local college, volunteers, and here's the best part...REFUSES to go out to lunch with "the ladies" because it will cut into her day and she doesn't want to sit around and hear about people's aches and pains. You go girlfriend!
this job really has it's golden moments and our conversation was definitely one of them.
She is now my customer and officially becoming one of my favorites.
We started off well. Probably because her last carrier paved the way for me.
When I took over for Brian, she was very welcoming, and I was very surprised.
The key to our relationship now seems to be that her little dog likes me. She took that as a good sign.
On saturday we had our first extended conversation...and it was nothing short of a revelation.
She seems to be one that plays her cards close to the vest..not one to disclose much about her life.. but I think I hit her at the right time.
The more she talked, the more completely blown away I became.
I knew that her husband died a few years ago after a very long illness. What I didn't know was that within 2 weeks of his death, she signed up to go back to college after about a 60 year hiatus. She wound up getting her degree at 80 years old. She plays the trombone in a senior citizen band, she's taking a music course at a local college, volunteers, and here's the best part...REFUSES to go out to lunch with "the ladies" because it will cut into her day and she doesn't want to sit around and hear about people's aches and pains. You go girlfriend!
this job really has it's golden moments and our conversation was definitely one of them.
Friday, July 13, 2007
helpful larry?
my mailman buddy Larry was making a delivery to a nursing home yesterday when he saw a person in a wheelchair heading full tilt for a busy road. Kicking into "hero" mode, he stopped the resident before they got into traffic. he thought he did a good deed, but then figured out that the person was trying to escape. what he really did was wreck their shot at freedom. i guess the wheelchair has an alarm on it that gets set off when they bust a move for the exit. staff people were making a b-line for the resident like he was an escaped convict. hopefully by the time i'm in a nursing home the wheelchairs will be pimped out and i'll be able to leave my well-meaning minders in the dust.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
a tale of two customers
Are you a good witch or a bad witch???click on these to enlarge..
(for some reason couldn't get
them to scan at a decent size.
i'm such a neophyte !)
Sunday, July 1, 2007
route awakewning
I can see him from around the bend. He's sitting down under a maple tree, digging. I can see him, because honestly I am looking for him..hoping that he will be there.
Odd that I would want to see anyone since the temp. is in the 90's and the humidity is insane. Usually under these conditions, the goal is simple... get done ASAP before the sun gets too intense.
But there he is. The only person out. On a day like this I'm usually the only one outside.. and that's because I have to be. Days like this your concerned customers stick their sympathetic heads out the cracked front doors of their AC -cranked -up houses.
But not this customer. I've only had one conversation with him, which left me waiting for the next one.
Mr. B is probably 70 something. There are many striking things about him..but the big three are his earthy laugh, lively eyes and energetic mind. He's a talker..and had me hanging on every syllable.
So now here he is, out in the sweltering heat, digging weeds..one by one with a knife. I know he can afford to have his yard done...I know he's probably got more interesting things to do. His posture is strikingly beautiful; poised, relaxed, almost joyful. He looks more like he's doing yoga than yardwork.
As I approach, I'm almost hesitant to disturb him..(he seems to actually be enjoying himself) but my curiosity gets the best of me. I walk over and ask him how he's doing. Before I know it I find myself sitting down under the tree with him..breaking the cardinal " keep your ass moving/ beat the heat" rule.
He told me about the person that turned his life around when he tried to drop out of high school. He told me about his frustration while starting his PhD at Cornell. He told me about his love of mathematics, and details about some of his own theories on quantum physics. He told me about his latest project..Project Genesis.. where he is trying to solve the puzzle of how the universe was created.
I left feeling ,enriched, enlightened..INSPIRED. It's not every day that you have the luxury of sitting in the shade on a steamy day with someone you barely know and leaving, in a dreamlike state...saying "Did that really happen?". I just hung out with Stehpen Hawkings, Albert Einstein, the Buddah , and Mr. Greenjeans all wrapped into one delicious person. It was more refreshing than a pitcher of ice cold lemonaide and a lot more memorable.
Odd that I would want to see anyone since the temp. is in the 90's and the humidity is insane. Usually under these conditions, the goal is simple... get done ASAP before the sun gets too intense.
But there he is. The only person out. On a day like this I'm usually the only one outside.. and that's because I have to be. Days like this your concerned customers stick their sympathetic heads out the cracked front doors of their AC -cranked -up houses.
But not this customer. I've only had one conversation with him, which left me waiting for the next one.
Mr. B is probably 70 something. There are many striking things about him..but the big three are his earthy laugh, lively eyes and energetic mind. He's a talker..and had me hanging on every syllable.
So now here he is, out in the sweltering heat, digging weeds..one by one with a knife. I know he can afford to have his yard done...I know he's probably got more interesting things to do. His posture is strikingly beautiful; poised, relaxed, almost joyful. He looks more like he's doing yoga than yardwork.
As I approach, I'm almost hesitant to disturb him..(he seems to actually be enjoying himself) but my curiosity gets the best of me. I walk over and ask him how he's doing. Before I know it I find myself sitting down under the tree with him..breaking the cardinal " keep your ass moving/ beat the heat" rule.
He told me about the person that turned his life around when he tried to drop out of high school. He told me about his frustration while starting his PhD at Cornell. He told me about his love of mathematics, and details about some of his own theories on quantum physics. He told me about his latest project..Project Genesis.. where he is trying to solve the puzzle of how the universe was created.
I left feeling ,enriched, enlightened..INSPIRED. It's not every day that you have the luxury of sitting in the shade on a steamy day with someone you barely know and leaving, in a dreamlike state...saying "Did that really happen?". I just hung out with Stehpen Hawkings, Albert Einstein, the Buddah , and Mr. Greenjeans all wrapped into one delicious person. It was more refreshing than a pitcher of ice cold lemonaide and a lot more memorable.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)