I am learning that the Army Of Good is everywhere, going to the Post Office Box is now a sacred ritual for me. I think most donations to the Mansion or refugee work are coming through Paypal, but almost every day there is a small envelope with a $5 bill in it.

Barbara lives in the town of Columbia Tennessee, notable for being the self-proclaimed “Mule capital of the world.” The town honors it’s name by sponsoring Mule Day, a large celebration held annually every April.

Sounds like my kind of place. There are all kinds of great stuff going on in our country that I know nothing about.

I can spot the $5 people right away when I open the P.O. Box with my key.

The envelopes are small, there is often a small return address sticker on the upper left hand corner, often there is a photo or card of a dog or cat, sometimes a donkey or horse or bird. The return addresses are almost always from small towns, often in the South or Midwest.

The $5 people love animals. They are the kinds of people, I said, that say something good or don’t say anything at all. They are a dying breed.

In the age of  texting and e-mail, I appreciate the time and effort it takes to get a card, writer a message, get a stamp, take the letter to the Post Office. You have to think about it, it isn’t free or instant.

In the digital age, the $5 people believe in personal messages. They are never nasty or cruel. They always have a good thing to say. I imagine $5 means a lot to people like that.

I’ve resolved to write about the $5 people, they are angels to me.  The messages are usually written by hand, and the bills are usually crumpled. Today’s $5 bill was unusual, it is new and crisp.

“Dear Jon,” wrote Barbara, “the story about the $5 angels caused me to go find a card to write to you and send $! Not that I feel like an angel…” She said my sweet stories about me and Maria are  up-lifting, and she is grateful for that.

You are an angel, Barbara, I know that angels never admit they are angels, they are too shy.

Barbara’s town of Columbia, Tennessee. It is bigger than my small town of Cambridge, N.Y.. The 2008 population was 34,402, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The town is the county seat of Maury County.

Thanks for sending me $5, Barbara, I will put it to good use.