Something No. 5

Okay, I'm already getting behind on listing something every day this month that makes me happy, but since I only have to answer to myself, I have decided not to issue any penalties!  Maybe I'll make myself sit in the corner.  With a bowl of ice cream...

5.  I love my post office.

Yes, it's true.  My tiny little post office. 

Even though my post office box is empty most of the time!

I feel sorry for people who have bad experiences and don't like the post office.

The people here are like family to me.  When I first moved here, an older man was the postmaster and he didn't get the whole mail art thing.  But even though he never said anything, surely he was impressed with my unique mail, the likes of which I'm sure he had never seen before.

When the new postmaster was sworn in, I soon got to know her really well and consider her a friend.  We've been through a lot of life's ups and downs over the years.  Many times she would take me behind the the door that says "Employees Only" so we could laugh or cry in private. 

The whole staff looks out for me.  If my mail is returned postage due, they have been known to put the postage on it and send it back on it's way, and I usually don't know unless the recipient says something.

I have done favors for them, too, like making signs (this one is a little worse for wear as it has been on the bulletin board for years).

One year I designed a special postage cancel for them, and even worked their booth at the local festival, stamping the cancel for customers.

A former clerk at the post office was a girl scout leader, and I went to one of the meetings and showed the girls how to iron tissue paper to freezer paper and make envelopes.  And how to make envelopes from magazine pages.

I went to the elementary school with the postmaster and took a bunch of rubber stamps so they could make pretend mail and stamp cancels on their envelopes.  Some of the rowdier boys stamped stuff all over their arms.  I'm not sure their parents were happy about that.

I know the internet is convenient for online bill paying, etc., but I do still try to support the post office whenever I can.

******

Okay, this is totally unrelated to the above.  I was in the pet store tonight, buying bird seed.  Near the register, there were some dog toys.  They were shaped like a person and they looked exactly like that character Mr. Bill, from years and years ago (Saturday Night Live).  It had a sticker that said "Press here - it talks". So of course I had to press it, because I wanted to know if it said "Oh, nooooooo" like Mr Bill did.  Sure enough, it did (even though nowhere did it actually identify this figure as Mr. Bill). 

I was laughing out loud and saying "oh, nooooo, Mr. Bill" while the young gentleman was checking me out.  He was looking at me funny.

I said, "You don't know who Mr. Bill is, do you?"

He said no.

He never heard of Toonces the Driving Cat either.

So sad. 

This generation is so deprived.