Monday 3 August 2015

The incorrect postcode that taught me a life lesson: an update on the case of mistaken address-entity


Remember this? The postcard from the Big Easy that landed on my doormat last month but which wasn't meant for me?


At the end of that post I mentioned my plans for putting the card in an envelope, addressing it to the couple whose names were on the card, using the same address BUT this time using the postcode of a different road, one about 20 minutes away which, confusingly, has the same name as ours.

And that's what I did - along with a note of explanation saying that I was just trying to give the card a fighting chance to get read by the right people - without knowing for sure if they were the right people!

Then a few days later ... this arrived on my doormat:
 A letter addressed to me but with no surname. So, someone who just knew me as 'Julie' ... and I had a feeling ...

Here's what I found inside:
The card transcript reads:
Dear Julie, Thank you so much for taking time and trouble to re-return the postcard. As you will have guessed it was for us!! Don't know why 'Jodie' forgot our postcode (think she was caught up in the moment, as she is travelling America - lucky thing). Thanks again. Frankie & Edie. 
How nice is that? 

And how good to know it reached the right people? And how great that they took time to let me know; to close the circle and to solve the mystery?

 I'm a big believer in 'what goes around comes around', that 'you get what you give' and I try hard to live my life that way except ... it doesn't always work like that. Life's messy and unpredictable and people can disappoint.

Plus ... there's never a guarantee in life that just because you act with other people in mind that they'll treat  you in the same way. And you can never act thoughtfully with the expectation that you'll have that intention returned. You have to act that way as its own reward.

The world isn't simply a mirror, and if it is ... it's one of those distorted ones from a funfair that gives you the eyes of a bug and the legs of a Dachshund. And yet, sometimes ... 

.. sometimes, like this time, you get a glimpse of a mirror in all its crystal clear, shimmering, glory.

You land on their doormat with a smile: they land on yours, beaming.

You made the effort to join the dots and give the story a conclusion and so did they.

You remind each other that people aren't as bad as all that.

You make each others day.

You thought you had nothing in common except a street name ... you were both wrong.

------------------------------------------

Julie :-)

11 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness, this is BRILLIANT!!!!!

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  2. That's a great story. There is another street with the same name as ours about 20 minutes away here, and although we don't get their post, we did have quite a job persuading BT we could take our phone no to this house from our old one. The girl wouldn't believe there was a second street of the same name and of course the other one, which she knew about, was too far away to allow a number carry-over

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    1. Why do planners do that? It shouldn't be allowed! Not in the same city!

      And now you've reminded me of a phone number related story I need to write down! [You're a good one for inspiring stories you know?]

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  3. Ah, brilliant ending! This has left me with a smile after quite a crappy day.

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  4. what a great story - so glad there is a happy ending! thanks for updating us.

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  5. What a lovely ending to the story! When my daughter was born the midwife went to a nearby street with the same name and scared the people there asking to see their new baby! Usually we just send them pizzas :)

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  6. That's a wonderful story... Inspiring me to do more random acts of kindness :) Thank you for sharing!

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  7. Add to the numbers a percentage of chance that it turned out the way it did!
    Good for you! Great for them! I just hope Jodie is as impressed as I was;)

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  8. That's a great story. I'm so happy that the recipient took the time to let you know the "rest of the story."

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