All in a Day’s WORK

Two coworkers of mine at the post office—a supervisor and a letter carrier—were always at each other’s throats. Recently, they were at it again, this time a real barn burner of an argument. I walked in just in time to hear the supervisor deliver a devastating insult, or so he thought: “I’ve taught you everything I know, and you still don’t know anything!” —Michael Jollie New Windsor, New York

It was 1930s Chicago— the height of the Depression. My grandparents owned a small grocery store, and one of their regulars was a charming man who seemed to be the center of attention wherever he went. Though she didn’t know his name, my grandmother admired how he embraced everyone as family. He’d send food baskets to the poor, pay others’ rent, and help people with their troubles.

Grandma was so struck by his innate

“If only I’d thought to take my phone with me, I could be getting some work done.”