The Old Man at the Post Office

I went to the post office today at the worst possible time.  Lunch.  I know I probably should have waited and gone later, but it was the only hour I had in my day to get there, and so I went.  When I walked in the door there were probably about 10 people in line in front of me, and within 2 minutes there was another 10 behind me.   As always when you are waiting in line somewhere their is just an air of impatience that surrounds most people.   Everyone has to be there, but no one really wants to be there, and that ends in grumpy impatient people.

Today, in line ahead of me was this little old man with a cane.  He was hobbling through the line, and grumbling to himself.  He was not wearing a wedding ring, and his coat looked expensive, but frayed at the edges. He had asked to speak to a supervisor and was waiting.  I am not really sure why that required waiting in line, but he was back in line anyways.  After another 10 minutes or so the supervisor comes out to talk to him.  I have nothing to do at this point but stand there and listen, so I do.  

Let me start off by saying that the supervisor comes out with a chip on her shoulder.  The little old man starts in that he is concerned.  That he always meets the mail man at the mailbox at 11:00, and it has been that way for years, and that all of a sudden he is not showing up until at least 2:00, sometimes as late as 5:00.  She listens for a minute to this old man and basically let loose on him.  She doesn't hear his complaint, she doesn't see his thoughts.  She sees him as this old man who has nothing better to do than come in and complain about his mail delivery.

I watched as the mans shoulders slumped down slightly as she puts him down, and tells him that they have until 5:00 to deliver the mail.  If he doesn't like that she is sorry.  He turns to walk out of the building and she rolls her eyes and storms back to the office in the back. 

How sad that he was overlooked.  How sad that she didn't recognize that this man is probably lonely.  That meeting the mailman at 11:00 might be the best part of his whole day.    It is a lesson that you never know who you are going to deal with, and if you can remember to meet each person with a little understanding and a little grace you can make someone's day.  You can make that person feel heard, or validated, or special instead of overlooked.