Mail Service – Part One: Letters

 

Writing and receiving letters is not new. Paul wrote letters to the Corinthians, which were delivered by anyone headed to Corinth. And if you had lived in the United States during our frontier period, you might have sent your letter from Missouri to California by Pony Express.

The U.S. Postal Service began in 1775 with the Second Continental Congress appointing Benjamin Franklin as the first Postmaster General for the colonies. And we have adopted the following quote honoring our faithful mail carriers:

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." 

Our belated thanks to Herodotus, who actually wrote this in 500 BC as he described the swift and reliable Persian postal system.

But whether we are dependent on the rider of a galloping horse or mail carriers who drive by/walk by your home, the sender has certain responsibilities to ensure prompt and accurate delivery of mail.

1. Place your message in an envelope

2. Provide the delivery address

3. Provide the return address

4. Affix the appropriate postage

During the holiday season, I prepared two items for mailing. One was a simple letter with which I followed the above-suggested steps 1-4.

The second was a manila envelope. I followed steps 1-3, but wasn’t sure about the correct postage. You might think that insufficient postage would mean the Elkhart package would only make it to Huntsville. That is not how the system works. Insufficient postage results in a return to your mailbox. I know this from experience.

I took both mailings to my local post office with the intention of asking the professionals to weigh and stamp for me.

I arrived just as the office was closing but was able to enter the lobby and use the letter slot for my two Christmas mailings. You may have deduced that I did not complete step four. As soon as I heard the manila envelope hit the basket below the mail slot on the other side of the wall, I, too, deduced that mistake.

After berating myself for a moment, I found a piece of paper and jotted a message.

HELP! I have mailed a packet with no postage. I will be back tomorrow to take care of this situation. Nancy Hinshaw

Then I slipped it in the mail slot without the benefits of steps 1-4.

As I got back in my car, my mail carrier came rushing out of the building waving my note and calling my name. After my humble explanation, she assured me that when the distribution center received it, they would return it to me. (I believe I explained that earlier in this BLOG.)

However, she is one of those “neither rain or snow or inept customers…” mail carriers. She retrieved my package and brought it to me early the next morning before beginning her “appointed rounds.”

I have added step five to my preparation notes.

5.     Buy Christmas gifts for the post office staff.