Hard Times at the U.S. Post Office
One afternoon a couple years ago, I packaged a manuscript to mail out. I got the postage already put on, so I was good to go. The package was too big to fit in our mailbox, so I schlepped down the block to use the public mailbox. Nope. It was gone. Only the concrete pad where it once stood was left. The cash-strapped p.o. had decommissioned it. Times had changed.
The U.S. Post Office has run into hard times like the rest of us. A sea of red has engulfed them. They're talking about cutting Saturday delivery and taking longer to deliver first-class postage. Like everybody, I have family members who work/have worked for the p.o., so I don't like seeing it flounder like a dinosaur. Those are jobs--folks' livelihoods--at stake.
The p.o. has gotten a lot of my business over the years, Lord knows. All that seems to get delivered at the house nowadays is junk mail and bills. The occasional card (b-days, Xmas) also arrives. But getting those cards you can hold in your hands is a nice touch I don't think will ever fade away. So, I hope some version of the p.o. survives and sticks around.
By Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles
"A curling and sparking electric wire of a read!"
Frank Wheeler, Crime Factory
The U.S. Post Office has run into hard times like the rest of us. A sea of red has engulfed them. They're talking about cutting Saturday delivery and taking longer to deliver first-class postage. Like everybody, I have family members who work/have worked for the p.o., so I don't like seeing it flounder like a dinosaur. Those are jobs--folks' livelihoods--at stake.
The p.o. has gotten a lot of my business over the years, Lord knows. All that seems to get delivered at the house nowadays is junk mail and bills. The occasional card (b-days, Xmas) also arrives. But getting those cards you can hold in your hands is a nice touch I don't think will ever fade away. So, I hope some version of the p.o. survives and sticks around.
By Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles
"A curling and sparking electric wire of a read!"
Frank Wheeler, Crime Factory
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Randy wrote: "Snail mail has been going through some rough times of late. I too hope it makes it through. I get too much junk, but those cards in hand are nice.I'm old enough to appreciate it, but I see a day ..."
I like getting books sent via the mail, too. Digital is great, but I also like the paperbacks. Thanks for the comments.
My dad was a mailman, and it makes me so sad to see what is happening to the US Post Office. I LIKE getting mail!!! Yes, email is good for business when you need an answer to something asap. But Christmas, birthdays, Get Well Cards - that is special.I have not succumbed to getting a Kindle or E-Reader because I LIKE BOOKS. I like holding them in my hand, I like the smell and the feel of a book.
It seems to me that getting back to the basics or as the kids today say, "Kicking it Old School" would help in making this economy great.
Marianne wrote: "My dad was a mailman, and it makes me so sad to see what is happening to the US Post Office. I LIKE getting mail!!! Yes, email is good for business when you need an answer to something asap. But ...""Kicking it Old School." I never heard that one. Love it. I've got nook and kindle on my laptop, but I don't use them. I look at the laptop screen enough hours each day. Thanks for your vote to keep land mail deliveries. I concur, esp. for get well card!
I became a mailman fairly recently, a little over five years ago, right at the point when mail volume was at its highest--and I've been there through the decline. In some ways, the problems recently announced on television and so forth are not as straightforward as you may think. There's also a lot of entrenched . . . well, the only word I can think of is "laziness," sadly. And there's also a great deal of mismanagement.But there's also a lot of people, like me, who do strive, every day, to bring people the things they want (and, yes, things they don't want, too, but hey, they pay me, and I can't throw away *any* of your mail because that's a federal crime). I do think things need to change, and soon, but I don't think the end of Saturday delivery is in sight--it would need congressional approval (think of all those constituents writing their congressmen--okay, e-mailing--to tell them they still want their Saturday mail), and besides, it's one of our last remaining competitive advantages.
I use the mail a lot!! As I still send out stuff for bookcrossing (and in fact recently won the You've Got Mail sweeps...and I got mail from about 20 people...fun!!) -- I love getting mail, I love going out to my post box and seeing what today holds (and am a little disappointed when the box is empty :( -- anyway, if dropping a day of delivery would help the PO stick around, I am all for it, though I think maybe tuesday would be a better day to drop than Saturday :-). Thanks to all those postal folks out there who have to deal with the going postal jokes, and the whining about how terrible the system is. I don't think it is terrible at all, I love my mail!!!
Angela wrote: "I use the mail a lot!! As I still send out stuff for bookcrossing (and in fact recently won the You've Got Mail sweeps...and I got mail from about 20 people...fun!!) -- I love getting mail, I love..."I know I sure do like the p.o. deliverying the checks I get from my clients. Plus there are the magazines we still take. There's a definite need. Thanks.
James wrote: "I became a mailman fairly recently, a little over five years ago, right at the point when mail volume was at its highest--and I've been there through the decline. In some ways, the problems recentl..."Thank you for the insider's view, James. I hope the p.o. does well after the economy gets better. My uncle retired from the p.o., and he loved it working there!
Cracked Rearview Mirror
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I'm old enough to appreciate it, but I see a day when these younger, computer raised generations will eventually sink it.
To bad.