The coast is due for a pounding from a hurricane. I’ll be back after the dust has settled (or the water recedes).
The coast is due for a pounding from a hurricane. I’ll be back after the dust has settled (or the water recedes).
Today I was in the queue at the post office. The good old reliable mail system has lost some luster lately because of the prevalence of email, so staffing is lighter than usual. In this particular case there was one employee on duty, and the line for customer service for this real human being was ten people long.
Four people had packages to send, two of which were pre-paid returns which needed no additional work on the clerk’s part, but he did suggest that they obtain a receipt just in case. They stayed on to do that.
This clerk managed to juggle one woman with a complex mailing issue (involving standing aside at the counter twice), two of the package senders and a lady who swore she had been in line for a half hour (he said it wasn’t quite that long, and I think it was more like ten). She noted that she didn’t want to be a bitch about the situation, but she had places to go and things to do. Perhaps she supposed that the other nine of us in line didn’t have anyplace to go. However, the gentleman behind the counter was cool under pressure, polite beyond reproach, and whittled down that line as if it were an everyday picnic. He mentioned to one customer who noted how calm he was that he had survived a childhood in Camden, college and a family with kids, so he obviously felt prepared for anything. It brought smiles to our faces.
I didn’t catch the fellow’s name tag completely (it was glare or his ultra-white shirt or something), but he was a breath of fresh air in customer service. I don’t know many post offices with staff that pleasant in the waning business hours of a Saturday.
I was there for stamps, and I don’t like to have mine dispensed from a grocery store cash register or an ATM, so I don’t mind the minor inconvenience when I have time to spare waiting in line. When my turn came I asked politely what small stamps were available, and I noted that he probably gets asked such questions fifty times a day? “Fifty?” he asked good-naturedly. I’m sure it’s more like two hundred.
So the post office does have nice people, and I felt it was beneficial to note that. Customers waiting in line, however, are often still as sour as ever.
I have already commented on the presidential debate and President Obama’s small flag pin. The contender, Mitt Romney, had a larger lapel pin. Well, the candidates for the number two position did the same thing. Vice President Biden wore a small American flag lapel pin, while Paul Ryan had the large one.
What’s up with this? I’m certainly not going to argue the issue of patriotism in relation to pin size, but was the choice part of the overall effort to steer public attention or opinion? Don’t think that every aspect of the candidates’ outfits is not over-thought down to the last detail. Somebody came up with the idea. I’d like to know why.
I sat through some of the presidential debate. It was, after all, the first one, and when trying to decide which button to push at the voting booth when “None of the Above” is never available, one must pay attention to determine the lesser of two candidates and select the other one. Eenie meenie miney mo doesn’t work, because we all know that once you select eenie, the one you’ll wind up with is meenie. Miney and mo are just along to balance out the count and make it look like you have control over your choices.
The candidates didn’t surprise me much. Sure, it took guts for Mitt Romney to tell the well-known PBS moderator that he would cut funds to public television. President Obama stayed cool under fire (and maybe too cool for the matter at hand). The debate amounted to too much back and forth and not enough about the real issues. They always do.
What bothered me the most, though, was the candidates’ choice of lapel pins. Was it just me, or did the President wear a smaller American flag pin than Romney? It sure looked like a token piece rather than a conscious show of pride. I just hope neither of the lapel pins were made outside the country.
We still have more debating to go, with the veeps going at it next. The networks want us to watch and get involved in our right to vote based on how the candidates’ words move our choice. I still don’t feel I have one.
 | Eden on Free Secretary |
| Eden on Getting the Message |
| Eden on The Unasked Questions |
| Eden on And Her Shoes Were #9 |
| Eden on The Poison Field |
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