Sometimes mail can be strange. In my teen years, I was pen pals with some of my cousins who lived far away, so I didn’t see them more than once or twice a year. I remember eagerly awaiting a reply from them after I had sent a letter.
I don’t like to complain about the postal workers, as they are out doing their job in all kinds of weather, but it seems to me that mail traveled faster in the 1950s than it does in 2015. I send a greeting card to a neighboring town, and it takes three or more days to get there these days. Years ago, it seemed the mail arrived the day after it was sent, no matter if it was to the opposite side of the state.
That could be my imagination. After all, everything is automated now, so should be much faster and easier. However, I know for a fact that at rare times mail never seems to reach its destination. I also know from experience that at times they get caught in a mail machine and arrive at their destination in a mangled condition.
Some people have cut down on mailing, by paying bills online and sending e-cards. I am still old-fashioned in thinking the less I have my credit or bank card numbers out there, the less chance I have of having my identity stolen. Plus, while I may not send as many greeting cards as I used to, I don’t mind picking one out, writing out a note, and addressing an envelope.
The postal workers have so much extra mail to handle with all of the charities that mail out address labels in the hopes that people will make a donation. I had to cut down on my donations, but still have a few favorites that I send to. But I only make one donation per year. After I send the donation, it seems they send double and triple the amount of address labels, packs of greeting cards, calendars and the like.
It kind of makes me think that perhaps I need to cut back further. I recently cleaned through one pile of address labels and threw them out. I threw away all of the Christmas ones after the season, as I am sure to be overwhelmed with an overload of them by the coming season.
The latest thing that arrived in my mailbox that made me smile is a letter from something called Hometown Memories from North Carolina. It is inviting me to share some memories with them for a book on living history.
They list several ideas to spark a memory, and I believe I have written about many of them in this column. One that I haven’t written about is a rumble seat. I am not old enough to remember them, but I do recall hearing my parents talk about the subject.
Elvis is another subject listed, and I certainly have a lot of memories from the time he first became popular. I was in seventh grade at the time and was head over heels infatuated. I know I have written about bits and pieces of that in the past, but nothing very recent.
One thing I remember is writing letters to my pen pal cousins stating my feelings about Elvis. They wrote back saying they liked Pat Boone.
So, each day when I go to the mailbox, I always hope for a note or check, or something to make me smile. Most days I am disappointed, but sometimes my loyal readers will send me a note, or even call. On my birthday, two people called me and sang “Happy Birthday.”
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