But a town filled with friendly, real people was the first thing I ever noticed about Woodstock. I forgot my glasses at the Post Office shortly after we moved and within an hour the clerk called our home. I was just puzzling about where I had put my glasses this time. What particularly impressed me was that she had to use the return address (no name) on the package I mailed to reverse look us up and find our telephone number. It took some effort which she apparently was happy to make. The grumpy postal clerks in Alexandria treated customers like the plague. My challenge there was to get one particular clerk to smile. I usually did by commiserating with her about how difficult it can be to serve the public. Had I left my glasses there...well...they had a lot of customers.
So here I am a few days before Christmas incredibly grateful for living in Woodstock and praying for everyone who is so fortunate to live here and in Shenandoah County. Sometimes my husband and I walk around town, rosaries in hand, praying for all the residents.
Woodstock isn't heaven, of course. With the benefits of small town living also come its downside like the incestuous politics and limited job opportunities. But taken all together, Woodstock is the kind of place the Book of Revelation must have in mind when it warns readers to "flee the cities." You could hardly find a lovelier place to retire.
