Annie Clements Music

Man Mailing Shoe… I was there!

Posted on 19. Dec, 2008 by annie in Notebook

So I’ve been going to the post office a ton lately, processing orders for Clementine Industries. (A big Thank You to all of my customers!!!) I brought my operation down to New Orleans for the holidays and stopped by my post office yesterday to mail out some goods when something amazing happened. I was standing in line directly behind a man holding a single shoe (black men’s dress loafer, size 10 or so I’d wager) who was waiting patiently for his turn at the counter. He approached the skeptical post office employee and said, “Hi, I’d like to mail this shoe.” He had already attached a piece of paper to the sole of the shoe which was addressed to George W. Bush at the White House, plus a note that said “This shoe’s for you.” No box, no packaging, just a lone shoe.

There was a moment of “Uhhhh, ummmm, hey Denice can we mail a shoe like this?” It was eventually agreed by all that this man was well within his constitutional rights to mail a lone shoe to the White House. Before they were finished with the transaction, I had to step in and get a couple of snap shots.

Proper postage is purchased and affixed to the shoe:

The shoe is ready to begin it’s cold and naked journey to the White House:

“Uhhhh, ummmm, hey Denice can we mail a shoe like this?”

Yep. That just happened. And I was there to document the whole thing. After the gentleman left, there was an outburst of laughter and wild chattering from all of us ladies about the whole reporter-throwing-a-shoe-at-George-Bush thing. It was such a New Orleans moment. It was me, three female postal workers and a few moms shrieking and squawking like a bunch of chickens at each other, no one really listening to what anyone was saying. “Can you believe that reporter was able to throw a SECOND shoe? I mean, where was the secret service? I hear someone’s offering 3 million on eBay for that shoe. They broke that man’s arm you know. Did you see how fast George W. ducked? It was pretty hilarious you gotta admit…” etc…

I love it when something totally wacky happens to a bunch of strangers and all of the sudden the invisible social walls are removed and we can all just start squawking like a bunch of chickens which is what we’d wanted to be doing all along. Thanks to Angel Parks whose order of a pair of guitar pick earrings sent me to the post office to be a part of it all!

Oh, and like my uncle later said, “If the shoe fits…. mail it!”