Palmer Buzz

Countdown—This is the week long-awaited. Children have been doing advent calendars, counting down the days. Adults have been planning every possible detail. Adolescents are off on holiday from school and are catching up on their sleep. Dogs are seen wearing stick-on ribbons on their heads. Cats are over stimulated with the indoor Christmas tree and dangly ornaments. Grocery store parking lots are jammed. Practically all the shopping carts (including the old and infirm ones) are out on assignment. The Monday and Tuesday leading up to Christmas is chaotic but by Wednesday afternoon a huge pause will happen after the initial holiday is celebrated. Hold on through the crowds and lines and parking snarls……peace is but two short days away.

Palmer Post Office Joy—The lines are long. The parking lot is full. What could be a ridiculous wait-in-line can actually be a bit of community fun. Sometimes cookies are offered. Sometimes musicians gift us with song. Often there is discussion, despite the fact that most everyone waiting in line is holding their cell phone at the ready to entertain them. Sometimes there is laughter. New friends are made. Neighbors reconnect. Our postal workers are patient and kind despite overwhelming demands. If you take a peek in the back, where packages are sorted, it’s astounding to see the level of organization and product. Some of us have always taken peeks at “the behind the scenes” Post Office environment. I promise you it is extremely congested now, extremely full, and unbelievably well organized. The complaints are common and occasionally things are lost or misplaced. But for the totality of the mail, our Palmer Post Office does a darn good job. Shopping local decreases the amount of package importation. And if you do mail ordering, remember the post office wait— is part of the price. Don’t complain and instead enjoy it.

Palmer Holidays For Everyone—The gentle Nativity Scene by the downttown locomotive engine and the lovely Jewish Menorah, on South Alaska Street are a welcome holiday nod to all the faiths and cultures in Palmer. Christmas is in full force, but Solstice and Hanukkah, Ramadan, and Kwanza have their own dear followers. Wandering around downtown Palmer at night is quite beautiful with all the variety of lights and decorations.

Plan Ahead—Next week is when we give up on 2024. There are things to be done in advance, which is now! Taxes, payments, filings, and donations. Review receipts and file and open the page to resolutions and plans. Get the new calendar ready to hang. The new year will come in quick and full.

Sometimes—This weekly column is sometimes accused of being too dreamy. Too superficial. Too goody goody. This could be true. However, being optimistic oftentimes breeds and fosters good endings. If we habitually discuss the “good stuff,” and we search and identify the “good stuff,” we will see goodness become both contagious and exponential. We have seen this hundreds of times in our own community. Someone will find a runaway dog. Someone will hang a lost mitten on the street sign. Someone will help an elder with their grocery cart. Someone will drop off bags of rice and beans at the food bank. Someone will help that mom with 4 kids in the post office. Every good deed is repeated over and over. And this column will contine to chronicle those fine acts.

Happy Holidays to All of You!

Barbara Hunt is both Palmer writer and artist. She works hard to keep the robust pulse of Palmer, Alaska. She shares the good stuff in the weekly Palmer Alaska Buzz Column in the Mat Su Valley Frontiersman and daily on the Palmer Alaska Buzz Facebook Group. Contact at bhunt@mtaonline.net or text 907.315.3222