Make Each Moment Count
October 29, 2023
Like all of us of a certain age, I do my best to make every moment count. The United States Post Office (funded by your taxes) is a major obstacle in my effort to do that.
Allow me to vent.
When a child, even if he is long-grown-up, needs an item from his mother mailed to him for his Halloween costume, and Halloween is less than a week away, immediate action is necessary. So, when I arrived at my local USPO the other day at 1:50 pm directly after a class and not having eaten lunch, I decided that a line with six people in front of me was reasonable.
Sixty minutes later, I was invited to approach the one clerk on duty. And it would have been longer except that some people in front of me were not on as important a mission as I was, and they had given up.
The one clerk had been helping a couple do their passport applications. They were ill-prepared. When they finally finished, she went on her “overdue” lunch break. When I suggested to her replacement that perhaps passports should be a separate operation, he told me that the USPO does passports. Period.
Mailing my package took two minutes.
End of venting.
Things will not change until the post office has affordable competition. Every other day we get somebody else’s mail in our mailbox. Sometimes it belongs to a neighbor and we deliver it ourselves but sometimes it’s for somebody in another part of town. Then we put it back in the mailbox and who knows what happens to it. Like you I try to enjoy every day. So for today I’m done with the venting! By the way, I look forward to your blog I love it!
Posted by: Janice Meyer | October 29, 2023 at 07:22 AM
My age old advice to you would be: Take a deep deep breath and blow out slowly while saying to your self, "oh what fun my son will have and I hope he will send pics" take another deep breath and just enjoy the relief of your anxiety AAHHHHHH
Posted by: Carol | October 29, 2023 at 08:05 AM
Judy, I couldn't agree with you more! I have experienced similar moments in the USPS. Then, on my last visit, I noticed a mail-it-yourself contraption in the post office. It has a scale and a screen/keyboard. You choose what kind of mail you want to use (Priority/First Class/Express, etc.), key in the destination address and your return address, etc., etc., it prints the label for you, you pay with your credit card, and you put it is a neighboring slot (which is actually bigger than a slot because it can handle a good size package. Then it gives you a receipt. It took about three minutes...and the 8 or 10 people in line were still in line....Check to see if your P.O. has this. If not, they should get it!!! Best to you, Linda
Posted by: Linda Greyser | October 29, 2023 at 08:47 AM
I believe there is a sign up in every post office that says the USPO is not funded by taxes, but is self-supporting. I don’t know what to believe, but I love the USPS! I grew up the country when the postman’s arrival was the event of the day.
Posted by: Karen Longeteig | October 29, 2023 at 10:11 AM
It's true that the Post Office is not funded by taxes. That's why they would keep operating in the event of a government shut down.
Posted by: Jean S. | October 30, 2023 at 12:30 AM
Yes, but did the package arrive on time?
Posted by: Steve Krikava | November 01, 2023 at 09:49 PM