I'm going to go off point a bit here...but it's still about the USPS
funny how someone's gripe can bring back a memory or two....
years ago when we lived in a very small rural farming community (1500 registered voters) in New England the town post office was located inside the family run country store in the center of town...it took up a whole corner to itself right next to the deli counter...you parked wherever you could, sometimes with a walk, sometimes not. Often cars and pickups were left running, 'in park'...with no one inside
if the storekeeper was busy slicing up meat at the deli, or waiting on a customer, you waited for him/her to finish, wash their hands and come around behind the window designated as the "post office" (which looked very similar to an old bank teller's window)
if someone's kid came into the store alone, you might hear "your mom's got a package, don't you leave until I get it for ya"
the aroma of freshly baked bread and whatever else they were cooking that day often resulted in walking out with more than just the stamps that you came in for.....
Eventually, the post office had it's own building, which they leased from a farmer... every year for one week in the spring, when the strawberries were ripe, the farmer would donate the berries, the ladies in town would bake biscuits and you'd get a free strawberry shortcake, topped with freshly whipped cream (donated by the cows out back) just for stopping in...
our "post office" was the meeting place where you'd catch up on all the local gossip....second only to the obligatory Saturday trip to the town transfer station (but back then we still called it 'the dump')...which was where you got all the dirt on what was going on
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