Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority it’s time to pause and reflect. That’s what the man with the milky mustache said to me that day in the sultry heat of the post office.
It was early. Maybe 9:00 a.m. and already the flies were limping along in a drained glass of too much summer. The man whose name was Sam or Sal, I can’t recall exactly, was standing in front of me at the Old Town Temecula post office.
His yellowed teeth reminded me of the piano keys on the old upright in my grandmother’s parlor: needle point cushions ripe with the smell of mothballs, slumped on aching velvet couches in a shade of blood orange. The piano keys – waiting to be played, stroked – lay silent under the lace curtains blowing in the parlor windows.
The man frothy with meaning tapped me on the shoulder. I stepped back and tried to remain a neutral participant in this unplanned encounter. Okay then, I said. Thanks for the advice.
Between him and the front of the line were babies trapped in strollers, legs and arms wriggling desperately to be free; knobby kneed ladies with sagging stockings.
Lady, it ain’t just advice. It’s the truth. Wilted words I thought to myself as his eyes burrowed into my skull.
Garlic coated each word wafting from his mouth. I took another step back, looking behind me hoping not step on any little bird feet in the snake line quickly stretching outside the doors.
By the way, these are the words of Mark Twain, he said reaching into his pocket. Blind obedience to authority is a cause for concern. Pointing a finger at me he tells me to be careful and think. It is the single biggest thing I can do.
Don’t let him in I whisper to myself.
I really enjoyed reading this. I felt like I was standing on the line too. I loved that you compared the man’s teeth to piano keys!