Recycled phonebooks and why they make me so happy

Asalam Alaikum,

Here in Karachi when we buy inexpensive little things, they often give us our purchase in a little paper sack made from recycled newspaper or phone books. I really like this for two reasons- one its recycling and two it is kind of fun to see where the phone books come from. At first I loved to see the phone book paper sacks, and see how many states they came from. Then I got a bit bored with that, and never bothered to check anymore.

Today as I was cleaning out my purse, I checked the two little bags that were left over from our recent shopping trip. I was so excited to recognize where they came from-both were from Jacksonville, Florida where we used to live! One was part of a white pages listing from Orange Park, and the other was a government listing(blue pages) for the Mayport Naval Station. I will admit to getting a little teary and squee-ing a bit. I felt a bit silly afterward(a lot silly actually), but it was just such a weird thing to happen. What are the chances that it would end up here in Karachi, in the same market that I shop at, in a store that I was visiting for the first time ever?

America is a big place, I have seen many pages from New York, Hawaii, etc. but it was so cool to see a little piece of home when we are soooooo far away.