The Mailman and the Maserati

I spent the day in Jasper, Georgia. A dear friend and I walked up one side of the street and down the other to check out the new shops and enjoy lunch. As we were stepping out of the Health Food Store we passed the mailman. He was walking his route delivering the mail. It struck us both that only in a small town would you greet the mail carrier with a friendly hello and nod. We traveled to the other end of the street and ate lunch. The restaurant was the hot spot, the place to be in Jasper for lunch.

After we left the restaurant we were standing at the corner waiting for the one stop light in town to change, and a Maserati drove through the intersection. Everyone on the street stopped and looked. We too looked and talked about it, wondering what it was doing in this part of the mountains. It seemed out of place and merely passing through. As quick a it was sighted it drive away.

It struck me later that certain things become common place, normal, expected. Like a mailman who delivers on foot. Like walking down the small town streets and passing the same shoppers in every store. Like having no fear or anxiety about leaving your packages in the car while you enjoy the afternoon. Like enjoying a fabulous meal with a friend while you and the town support the local cuisine. Like walking freely, at a leisurely pace to and fro with no one pushing you from behind because they need to move quicker. Other things seems unique and out of place, like a Maserati traveling through a one stop light town. It was exciting and novel and caught our attention, yet as soon as it was there it was gone. And it may not ever pass that way again.

Too often we overlook the simple things of life. The people who make our world work – the mailman, the grocer, the boutique owner, the local furniture store that was been in business for sixty years. These hard working people are what make you proud of where you live. They remind you that good people work hard in this world and they make a difference. Not everyone can or wants to drive a Maserati. Not everyone is just passing through. Not everyone wants a sports car to wisk through town. Some are content to live and work and enjoy life in a small town, day after day, doing what they do best. The places we live are more than just places, they are people and service and the knowledge that kindness and simple things really do matter. The mailman and the Maserati reminded me of this one.