Here’s a tough question.Which had you rather do, go to DMV for any reason or mail a package at the Post Office?
But couldn’t I go to the dentist instead and get a root canal without Novocain? No, pick one. DMV or the Post Office.
Let’s see. Let me weigh my options. At DMV, you have to go through two lines. The first line is to decide where you will wait in the second line. Then you get to sit in one of those really, comfortable plastic chairs for who knows how long and play DMV Bingo where you watch hopefully that B-123 (your number) will pop up on the big screen and you can turn in your old license tags.
No, I think I’d rather go to the Post Office where there is only one line of 14 people waiting to see one of the two Post Office guys on duty.
But.
One of the two Post Office guys suddenly has to take care of a passport application, which will take him out of service for a week and a half. Now it’s the 14 of you in line waiting for a chance to see the one-and-only Post Office guy.
The Post Office is a place where time stands still. You watch the wall clock behind the counter, and the second hand moves only occasionally. Twenty-five minutes in line at the Post Office is like 5 hours of real time. Everything moves in slow motion. Occasionally a Post Office guy walks out from the back room at about the same pace as a senior with a walker in an assisted living facility. Apparently, there is a federal regulation demanding that no postal employee move quickly. They must proceed with all deliberation. It’s like watching slugs mate.
In what seems an eternity, you finally reach the front of the line. You’re next. Hot damn, this is exciting. My moment has come.
But then, just when you’re number one in line, the one-and-only only Post Office guy takes a package and disappears to the back room, slowly of course. Now there are 14 new people in line and no Post Office guys. Ultimately, the one-and-only Post Office guy ambles back to his station and you get to mail a birthday present to your granddaughter for her 21st birthday and hope she gets it before she turns 22.
Waiting in line at the Post Office? Couldn’t I please just get a root canal instead?
