Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Adventures in buying an entire roll of stamps

Me - I'd like to buy a roll of stamps, please.
Postal Clerk - Okay, so how many stamps did you need?
Me - Just a roll.
Postal Clerk - Yes, but how many stamps did you need?
Me - Just the one roll.
Postal Clerk - A roll's got 100 stamps in it. You didn't need 100 stamps did you?
Me - Well, not right now, but I'd just like to get a roll now.
Postal Clerk - But how many do you need?
Me - I usually just buy a roll, so I don't have to make too many trips to the post office.
Postal Clerk - But, that'll be 37 dollars!
Me - Okay, that's fine.
Postal Clerk - A whole roll.

I hand her two $20 bills.

Postal Clerk - Let me check in the back and see if we have any.

By now, several people behind me have started talking amongst themselves. Perfect strangers, mind you. People in small towns do that -- talk amongst themselves even though they don't know each other.
She returned with a roll, I paid for them and left.
Next time, I'll tell her that I'm sending out wedding invitations or something to avoid the hassle.
I should have known I was in for it when the old fella in front of me bought two stamps -- just two stamps.

4 comments:

Erudite Redneck said...

Well, I reckon he only had two letters to mail!

Dude, I just discovered your blog. I'll be back. I love seein' yer take on things, which is pretty much the opposite of mine own experience.

For what it's worth. My wife, who grew up in a Big City (100,000) gives me a hard time because I go to the post office and buy exactly as many stamps as I have letters to mail. Small-town thing, I guess. :-)

My hometown in eastern Oklahoma had about 1,500 people when I left in the early '80s; it's up to around 2,500 or so now; I'm in suburban OKC these days.

Anyway. Good stuff here. And welcome to Oklahoma.

OKDad said...

Thanks ER...good to hear from another Okie. My sister-in-law grew up in a town in Eastern OK called Spiro.

Man, I thought the Okies where I live had a heavy accent -- she's got that eastern Okie accent twang on a full-time basis and there are times we have a hard time understanding each other.

It's a riot.

Erudite Redneck said...

Ha! Last time I got pulled over was in Spiro. That's in the next county over from my old stompin' grounds. Come visit my joint. It's a little on the political side sometimes. OK, a lot. But not always. Oh, what I say about women from southeastern Oklahoma is they all sound more or less like Reba McEntire, who is from there. :-)

Anonymous said...

One time, a postal clerk got up in the middle of helping me and went on break! I kid you not. By golly, customer service wasn't going to get in the way of her break time. I can't remember if that was in Oklahoma or Texas.

Here in South Oklahoma City I'm considering getting a PO Box at the local UPS Store so tired am I of getting other people's sensitive mail, having mine disappear, and finding creased, soiled, torn, and water-damaged mail in my box on a regular basis.