post office chat

I had my first real "small town moment" the other day. I was standing in line at the post office and the woman behind me said, "Your hair is so beautiful. Is it naturally curly?" I thanked her, said "yes" and she proceeded to tell me that her son has red hair, too. "He lives in Portland," she said, which obviously launched me into my story of having just moved from there. Turns out that she and her husband had lived for years in the Gladstone/Oregon City area and had moved to La Grande a few years ago. A small world...

As we stood and talked, I couldn't help but picture the usual scene at the grumpy Belmont branch of the Portland post office: a long line of silent, impatient people—myself included. All of us close in proximity, but miles apart in our minds.

The experience caught me off guard a little, but I'd have to say that I enjoyed the line of chatty, friendly people much more—myself included.