Calling Tennessee

Our house at the beach does not have mailboxes. If we want to get USPS then you need to get a PO Box. We had one when the kids were campers for their letters. I’d come back each summer after not using the box for 8 months and find the box filled with tons of worthless mail because the only people that knew that box were the kids, us and obviously the mailing lists.

I set out to buy a few pots from Lodge. Figure this might be the year to get cast iron pots since the use will be high this summer. Lodge’s site connects to USPS, as many do, to confirm our address. Sometimes the checkout process will tell me that our address does not exist so I can’t make the purchase.

I forward the info to Lodge, they wrote me back and scheduled a time to talk order the phone to place the order. Dee called me at the schedule 430 time. I gave her all the information and she put it into the system on her end. How soon we forget about those times when we had to call instead of just click purchase. How we used to call for a dinner reservation? All of these actions have embraced technology to make our lives and their companies more efficient. Originally there was pushback but in the end technology evolution always wins.

It took me about 20 plus minutes to get the whole order wrapped up and I did not order much. There was something delightful about hearing Dee’s Tennessee twang on the other end of the phone. Even her funny remarks. I didn’t do it but I wanted to engage her in a conversation about her thoughts on Covid-19 and what happened in Minneapolis but I didn’t.

The world is so divided now with such anger that plays out if you aren’t on my side that I was afraid to go there. I should have opened up a conversation. Talking to others who look at the world differently is good for everyone. We can agree to disagree but understanding each side is the only way we are going to move forward.