Here we are in a brand new year. I for one, am happy to be alive! I had feared we all might disappear from the surface of the earth in December of 2012. On the other hand, all the usual problems remain, plus new ones are popping up all the time.
Postage is rising again, the later part of this month. Ugh! That means more inflation, or perhaps stagflation. As a backward member of the Boomer generation I'm not into all the new technology. I still send out handwritten letters and mail Christmas cards.
In fact, the day after Christmas I bought 4 boxes of beautiful cards at half price. I'll admit it's starting to get expensive to send them. However, I still have enough holiday "FOREVER" stamps to get me thru a few more seasons, also my card list continues to get shorter.
I've got to say, last Christmas I was impressed as to how fast my packages moved thru the mail. Often, the merchandise was delivered the same week as I placed the order. Unfortunately, the postage sometimes cost as much as the item itself. -- And I always choose the least expensive rate, too!
Mail crawled back in the olden days! As a 7 yr. old, I forced my grandfather to buy an extra box of breakfast cereal so I would be able to send away for that Jiminy Cricket sippy cup with the moving eyes. I needed 2 box tops along with my dollar. Anyway, I had to wait 6 to 8 weeks for delivery, which is almost a lifetime in child years.
By the time it arrived, I had forgotten all about it! Receiving it was a big anti-climax, too. Sure the eyes moved, but the cup was an unappetizing flesh-colored pink; even Jiminy's hat! Within 6 months, the plastic cracked and my cup had to be thrown out. It wasn't even worth my dollar! And a dollar was worth a whole lot more in 1958!
But at least the shipping & postage were free! Back then, it was free on ALL orders from catalogs, as well. Plus you received a free gift from the company and some really nice items, too. This was true in many cases until I reached my 40's.
Several years ago, I ordered a book thru the mail and received an empty package. (You could actually see where it had been slashed open at the bottom!) Fortunately, the company replaced the book at no extra charge. I called the Post Office and complained to a supervisor. I asked why on earth they would deliver an obviously empty package in that condition! It should have been investigated because it left the company intact! Their response was similar to, "Yeah, it's our fault, but that doesn't make us responsible." If it hadn't been so sad, it would be laughable.
Unlike most people, I enjoy getting junk mail. It's fun to wish shop thru all the various catalogs I receive. But I really wish they would put an end to Saturday mail! It's just a nuisance. Plus every time a problem arrives via mail, it always seems to come on a Saturday. Everything is closed and I can't deal with it until Monday, but I'm left with 2 days and 2 sleepless nights to worry over it.
My family had a P.O. Box until we moved into the city limits in 1960. Always it was a treat to go pick-up the mail! I loved to ferret thru the garbage cans for unopened letters and packages. Usually there was plenty! I would bring home hand fulls of other people's junk mail. Frequently, I found packages, too! There was a doctor in town who was constantly throwing out sample medicines from pharmaceutical companies, and I mean some large boxes filled with all kinds of pills!
Of course my parents threw everything out. But it was just the thrill of the unexpected! Always I hoped to find something wonderful in one of those boxes!
After moving into town, we had an actual mailman deliver to our house. Man, we really were moving up in society!.. Although our initial mailman was rather incompetent. On several occasions I came across neighbors unopened bills blowing across our lawn. (At least I didn't have to root thru any garbage cans!) I took them to my mother, and she would steer me in the direction of the correct neighbor. Then I got to play postman.
Back then, our mail box was attached next to our door. That meant the mailman actually had to get out of his truck. During the 1990's we were forced to move our mailbox to a more convenient location for the mailman, one less so for us.
When I noticed the mailboxes in this neighborhood, I became uneasy. Anyone driving by in a car or walking down the street can help themselves to my mail without ever setting foot on my property. Anytime I place checks in the mail, I either wait until I see the mail truck, or I drive to a mailbox.
Eventually, I'll get with the times and pay all my bills online. But I intend to fight it as long as I can. I trust computers even less than I trust the Post Office. However, I know that one day soon, I'm going to be sending out electronic cards.
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