The 93rd Circle Time: The Show and Tell Weekly Thread
Show and Tell is wasted on elementary schoolers. Join several dozen bloggers weekly to show off an item, tell a story, and get the attention of the class. In other words, this is Show and Tell 2.0. Everyone is welcome to join, even if you have never posted before and just found out about Show and Tell for the first time today. So yank out a photo of the worst bridesmaid’s dress you ever wore and tell us the story; show off the homemade soup you cooked last night; or tell us all about the scarf you made for your first knitting project. Details on how to participate are located at the bottom of this post.
Let’s begin.
On Tuesday, I went into the post office to mail my first batch of mishloach manot and I brought the postal workers their annual basket of cookies and candies. I asked if Joel was working because I knew he always looked forward to the hamantaschen and had asked back in January if it was getting close to Purim. “He retired,” the postal worker admitted. “Two weeks ago.”
She pointed out that even the retired still have to pick up their daily mail, so she put the hamantaschen in his mailbox. But it really blew my mind that he wouldn’t be there anymore when I came in to pick up my mail or send a package. I don’t have a picture of Joel, so this rendering in Microsoft Paint will have to suffice.
Just to let you know the sort of guy Joel is, when we did the March of Dimes walk and wore the Team Lennox and Zoë t-shirts, I went to mail them (after I washed them, after I washed them; I want it noted that I did not send Allison skanky shirts) and told Joel how special and irreplaceable they were and he left his station to walk them through the whole mailing process in the backroom and place them directly on the mail truck so he could promise me that the package didn’t get lost on its way out of the facility. How many people would do that? He would tell me dirty Tiger Woods jokes when I came in to get my mail. He would give me extra boxes to fill at home so I didn’t have to package things at the post office. And he always gave me free tape from his stash of post office tape even though I was supposed to bring my own adhesive.
He was a great postal worker and I’m sorry that he won’t be there in the morning anymore when I go to pick up my mail, but I hope he enjoys retirement and does fantastic things and still gets to enjoy the hamantaschen when he comes to pick up his own letters.
What are you showing today?
Click here or scroll down to the bottom of this post if this is your first time joining along (Important: link to the permalink for the post, not the main url for your blog and use your blog’s name, not your name. Links not going to a Show and Tell post will be deleted). The list is open from now until late Friday night and a new one is posted every week.
Other People Standing at the Head of the Class:
- If you would like to join circle time and show something to the class, simply post each Wednesday night (or any time between Wednesday morning and Friday night), hopefully including a picture if possible, and telling us about your item. It can be anything–a photo from a trip, a picture of the dress you bought this week, a random image from an old yearbook showing a person you miss. It doesn’t need to contain a picture if you can’t get a picture–you can simply tell a story about a single item. The list opens every Wednesday night and closes on Friday night.
- You must mention Show and Tell and include a link back to this post in your post so people can find the rest of the class. This spreads new readership around through the list. This is now required.
- Label your post “Show and Tell” each week and then come back here and add the permalink for the post via the Mr. Linky feature (not your blog’s main url–use the permalink for your specific Show and Tell post).
- Oh, and then the point is that you click through all of your classmates and see what they are showing this week. And everyone loves a good “ooooh” and “aaaah” and to be queen (or king) of the playground for five minutes so leave them a comment if you can.
- Did you post a link and now it’s missing?: I reserve the right to delete any links that are not leading to a Show and Tell post or are the blogging equivalent of a spitball.
- If you want it…
I’ve now placed a Show and Tell archive on the sidebar that will be updated each week in case you miss it. And click here for the icon code if you wish to have it for your blog. It links to the archives.
19 comments
I hope he enjoys his retirement (I’m sure he will) He sounds like he was sweet, it’s strange how you get used to people in the community and one day they are just gone. I always wonder where they go.
Good customer service like that is becoming far too rare. I hope he knew that he was awesome.
It is so nice to have people like that in our lives. I hope he felt appreciated and go retire knowing he helped many people and brighten their day. Really it is the little things in life.
It’s wonderful to come across people in any service industry who are willing to go the extra mile. It sounds like he’s a special person and I’m sure he will be missed.
Love the portrait of a mail man 🙂 He seems like a great guy.
ICLW
Isn’t it sad to not have those we appreciate ‘there’ anymore? I’m usually left w/ such a “what?” feeling, as if it just wasn’t possible one day it would happen. But I hope he enjoys his retirement and what you left. I’m sure it’ll make his day when he gets his mail. 🙂 And I totally love your portraits! I want one! 😉
There is nothing better than a good post office with good postal workers. Our post office is HORRIBLE. But the one near work is wonderful. I get next day local delivery if I use that post office. And second day service to Chicago!
I’m sure you will miss your postman. Nice paint rendering!
Not only is it wonderful that you had someone like that around, it is wonderful that you took the time to recognize how special he was.
I wonder where you’ll get your Tiger Woods jokes now.
I think Joel looks & sounds like a nice man, and I’m sure he’ll enjoys the special treats, but miss the lady who brings them.
love the paint image.
I love our postmaster too. we talk about music and movies. he took our adoption outreach mailing and witnessed the love we put out to the world with so much care, and now he has a picture of baby J up on the wall behind him!
Guess you’ll just have to carry on the tradition and share the Tiger Woods jokes with us. 😉
Not long ago, my college newsletter published a story about one of the 3 regular “lunch ladies” who worked in our college cafeteria. It seemed like Anna was always there working the door, scanning our ID cards to let us in and for those of us who even went to breakfast regularly (a rarity I know) we got to know her pretty well. It brought a tear to my eye to hear of her passing, but I was incredibly glad that the college took the time to recognize such an important and wonderful person. She colored a big part of my college experience and she wasn’t even a faculty member. But that’s the point. It’s not just the smartest, richest, and most powerful people who touch our lives and I’m grateful I had the chance to know her. Thanks for sharing your story! Sounds like he was a great man and it sounds like his retirement is well-deserved!
I covet Joel. My regular guy at the post office is a nasty fellow who yells at everyone.
I <3 Stories like that, because I love people like you do. From the people at Daycare, to the postal workers down the road to the lady in the Hallmark store who sold me the "Twins" from Willow Tree on the day we brought them home from the NICU and still asks to see pics or them (Or them in person) when I walk into her store in the mall (how does she remember me?? 🙂 I look to these people as places in my journey that are important to the destination even if I only visit them once in while.
Have a wonderful retirement Joel!
I loved this story. I like you (and I loved Coffeegrls story too) love people that stand just outside of my inner circle. The ladies in our mailroom, the cleaning people at the colleges I attended, the woman from Hallmark that sold me the “Twins” from Willow Tree Angels the day we brought the boys home from the NICU..she still asks about them and when we have them with us, she squeals and talks to them like they are her grandchildren. She makes my day.
Have a great retirement Joel!!!!! You’ll be missed!
People like that make all the difference, don’t they!
He seems like such a wonderful man, and I absolutely love your drawing of him! hahahaha. I hope he enjoys the hamantaschen you left him when he goes to get his mail. 🙂
-Em
ICLW
I hope he enjoys his retirement and knows how much he touched your life.
This is one of those stories that proves that you don’t have to be a nobel prize winner to change the world. You just have to do what you do do well.
Bea