Post Office Loudness

So on Friday I headed into the Post Office to pick up my PO box mail. On Friday afternoon it's usually really crowded. Anyway I get my letters out of the box and see there's a yellow slip which means I got a package too. I head over to the backwindow and stand there waiting for a postal worker to come over. There used to be a bellhop bell on the counter to call someone over but they took away the bell recently. So now I stand there until someone like wanders by. Sometimes it takes a while.10 minutes or whatever. I'm not really good at calling attention to myself so I'll occasionally throw out a half-hearted 'Hello?' into the empty back office trying to get someone to come over. But I'm not real convincing about it.

Anyway a line of four people form behind me after a couple minutes. I felt like I was spokesperson for the line so to get things going so I said loudish, 'Hello? Anyone around?' Then I'd wait for a couple minutes. And then say, 'Hello? Anyone back here?' And then wait. Finally this lady from the line kind of shoved me aside and yelled, 'ANYONE FUCKIN WORKING TODAY OR WHAT?!' Then she shot me a look and took her place back in line. I felt like deballed or something. But I was glad it was a woman who stepped up to yell because the Post Office lady (who came over 30 seconds later) knew it wasn't me who yelled out. But whatever. Maybe I shoulda.

After I got the packages I headed over to this to big table to stuff everything into my bag. Ok this is sort of hard to describe but on the back of the table has there's this long thick plastic slot container thing to hold forms and labels and stuff. It's like a few feet feet long. One of those things. Anyway I slap my bag up on the table and didn't realize the big plastic thing wasn't actually attached to the table so I knock this big plastic thing and it falls off the back of table and hits the floor landing flat. BANG!

This thing made such a loud noise it scared me. It sounded like a frickin gunshot in the echoey Post Office. Everyone in the place including the workers like gasped or yelped when the noise went off. I turned around and everyone was staring at me all bugeyed and pale. It was like dead silence. I smiled and said, 'Um... sorry bout that.' as I picked up the thing.  People really looked stunned. Not sure if it was a weird reaction because it's a post office where crazy stuff has been known to go down and because its a federal building in NYC. Or both. Or maybe it was just a friggin loud ass noise that would have freaked people out the same way anywhere.

So that was that with all that thatness.

ok bye!

tOdd