I'm thrilled with my highway department, Really, I am.

A few weeks back, one of their giant brush-cutting machines mowed down a hosta i have by my mailbox, plus it must've rammed the mailbox because the horizontal post holding the mailbox was pulled out of the vertical post and was hanging by a few nails.

I called the office, asking for someone to come and repair the damage. And they did, today. But not only did they repair the post, but they gave me a brand-new, gleaming mailbox, and even put my house number on 3 sides, just like I had it before.

That's what I call service!! And I love my new mailbox!

These are the same guys who gave me a break one year when I couldn't find my car registration when I needed to renew my annual landfill permit. (It was wedged behind my glove box.)

These are the same guys who let me unload wood stumps that far exceeded the 4" diameter limit for free unloads. (Beyond that, you're supposed to pay.)

And finally, these are the same guys who gave my friend's 90-something-year-old mother a break, looking the other way when she went to the dump...for years...with an expired permit sticker.

It doesn't take much to make my day.

My old mailbox had a dent from years back when some kids swung at it with a baseball bat. I'm sure the highway guys knew it was an old dent, since it was quite rusted. I'm just so tickled to have a new mailbox, as you can see. In fact, i am mailing them a little thank you note today. It just seems that, these days, no one ever gives you a break, or goes beyond what they're supposed to do, and often, they don't even do that.