When people use the word “postal” in these modern times, they refer to someone who has lost all control of temper. Most of you know this refers to things that postal employees have done in the heat of a stressed-out moment, leading to injuries to others and even death.
Not all “postal” occurrences have occurred in post offices. In Texas City, I don’t believe you could ever describe any postal employee as capable of going “postal.”
Here’s why.
I received a package via another package delivery service, which had to get to my daughter, according to her, “absolutely overnight.”
But it had taken such a long time to get to me, I decided, in my scatterbrained wisdom, to send it through the good old U.S. Postal Service.
So I took it down to the Texas City office and sent it Express Mail, which sounded fast enough for anybody. I didn’t read the specifications. It turns out they are kind of like large, giant and super sizes. Express Mail is “large.”
My daughter called within 15 minutes or so and her bottom line message was “get it back and send it FedEx” absolutely and positively.
Betting that they would not let me do that, I made a return trip to the post office, waited in a longer line, managed to get to the same helper as before and explained my dilemma.
She not only went in the back and searched out my package, smiling all the while, she got help from others doing it. Then she found a supervisor who helped her figure out the papers for a refund. And the supervisor is smiling, too, though this is obviously a rarity.
By then, I am feeling very, very special and blessed, and everybody else in the post office is being patient.
It is either because of the holiday season or they all understand what bossy daughters who have given their mothers $20 bills to mail something properly are like.
Package in hand, refund money in pocket, I hastened down the street to the FedEx/UPS place and sent the little package properly.
And she was right about the $20, because it cost me $19.80. And it did get there, as I heard later, absolutely, positively overnight.
But I’ll bet whoever delivered it was not as cheerful or helpful as the lovely folks at the Texas City post office.
I think it is because they work in Texas City.
Except for a tiny minority of thieves and criminals, the people in Texas City have always been especially nice. Friendly. Helpful. Looking out for one another.
They don’t just do it at Christmas, though Thanksgiving and Christmas bring out the best in a lot of folks around here.
Volunteers by the dozens turn out to provide a Thanksgiving dinner for anybody who wants to be there. Dozens more deliver dinners to those who can’t get to St. John’s Methodist Church.
Now everybody is turning out to help the little children have a nice Christmas.
Our Kiwanis Club has shrunk to very few members, so we can sponsor only one family this year — mom, dad and three kids. Each of the five or six active members who showed up last week is getting a toy for each kid and something for mom and dad, too.
Some of the ladies at church are buying toys for kids who won’t have much Christmas.
This is much, much more fun that buying for your own family. Try it and see.
Cathy Gillentine is a columnist for The Daily News. She may be reached at cgillentine1(at)sbcglobal.net.
