A Post Office Comedy
Under the blazing sun, the Kings Highway post office was a dreary place, and the long line of people waiting outside only made it worse. But among the weary faces stood a grandmotherly figure, her vibrant headscarf and shawl a pop of color in the gray surroundings. She shuffled along with the crowd, her eyes scanning the area in confusion.
Suddenly, she heard a voice speaking in her native Russian behind her. Turning around, she saw a young man with a trendy haircut and a cheeky grin on his face. He too spoke Russian, and she felt a sense of relief and comfort in his presence. The post office could be intimidating, especially when it came to important documents like her income tax.
"Excuse me, young man," she said, her voice shaking slightly. "Could you help me send my tax properly?"
The young man, taken aback by the sudden request, responded in a mix of Russian and English, "Sure thing. Let's just buy two stamps from the machine, yeah? No need to stand in this long-ass line for nothing."
To his surprise, the old woman just smiled and nodded, clearly understanding his suggestion despite his colorful language. As they made their way to the stamp machine, the young man felt a sense of camaraderie with the woman. It was like they were in on a secret together, communicating in a language that nobody else could understand.
But as they approached the machine, the young man realized his mistake. He had spoken his suggestion out loud in English, forgetting that there were Americans in line who could understand him perfectly. To his embarrassment, they looked at him with nods of agreement, clearly sharing his sentiment about the long wait.
As they finished their transaction, the young man marveled at the way he and the old woman had been able to recognize each other as fellow Russians without even speaking a word. It was a bond born out of shared cultural markers - the way they dressed, moved, and carried themselves.
Indeed, Russians from the former Soviet Union in Brooklyn had a knack for recognizing their compatriots without speaking. It was a sense of kinship born out of a shared experience, a bond that transcended language and geography. The young man couldn't help but feel proud of this moment as he and the old woman parted ways. They were not just Russians, but specifically Jews from Ukraine - a distinction that mattered greatly in Brooklyn's tight-knit community.
Looking back on the encounter, the young man couldn't help but laugh at his slip-up with the language. But in the end, he and the old woman had found a moment of levity in the midst of the post office's endless bureaucracy, connected by a common thread of identity and a bit of humor.
