Real Good Feeling

Here in eastern Massachusetts, there’s no question we’ve been having more than our share of rainy weather this summer. The gardens are mostly loving it, the people not so much.

So, I’d been reading about the hot and dry weather they’ve been having out west, and wondering if there’s anything that I, just as a lone private citizen, could do to help out.

Then I hit on the idea of sending them some of our weather. I mean, we’ve got way more rain, they’ve got way less, so why not send them some? I always figure, if you don’t want to be part of the problem, try being part of the solution. You know, all that. Sharing is caring. 

So I went down to my local mail store and told them I wanted to overnight some our weather out west. The clerk was very helpful. She took out her tape measure, and got the height, the width, and the depth, and came up with some options. “Well, the cheapest is going to be the post office, but it might take a week or more to get there.” I said, “No, I want it there quicker than that, those people are really suffering.” So she said, “OK, your UPS next-day air is going to be your best bet,” and quoted a figure that was, in fact, a little more than I wanted to pay, but heck, I wanted to help folks living through a nasty drought, you know, not score a bargain, so I said, “OK, let’s do it!”

It was a real good feeling. But a couple days later, my shipment was returned to me. There was a terse note attached to the outside of the box. “Dear Do-Gooder: Thanks but no thanks. Here in the west, we are a self-sufficient people, hot and dry it’s true, but proud and resilient. When we want some of your elite eastern weather, we’ll ask you for it. With all due respect, kindly butt out.”

Well, that took me down a peg. I was just trying to help! But when I opened the box, I saw it was full of warm, sunny weather and blue skies. Their weather, see, because it had come from there.

I didn’t ask any questions. Later, I spent a nice afternoon out in the garden with the sunlight streaming down.