A letter from Z

[zebulen]

In an effort to save money, the USPS is looking to trim service from many rural post office locations.  The list of potential closures includes many small towns in Minnesota, including our current location, and the location where I first received letters from my penpal-turned-wife.

Separating nostalgia from practicality seems almost impossible.  It'

Comments

[sillyliss]

Oh, they can't close Squaw Lake. It's a piece of nostalgia. :(

[zebulen]

It's "under consideration." Outside of our nostalgia, many post offices are like living history museums. Ada, for instance, has all of that old brass equipment in the sorting area.

[oregana]

I think the post office does a much better job than FedEx - and at half the cost. I like the post office. Sure, they're not perfect, but overall I think they do a great job. It is very sad that they have to reduce services. :(

[zebulen]

I don't think I would trust FedEx for anything anymore! We should somehow direct all junkmail deliveries through them from now on.

[cathy_edgett]

I love that you met as pen pals. :)

I don't understand the economics, though I do see that when I go to my local post office, the workers move slower than snails and they don't seem to care. If I go to the UPS office, there is energy in the air.

On the other hand, our local "mail man" is a historian for our area. He knows what is going on with everyone, and stops and talks as he goes along the route, passing along information, care, and good cheer. He comes to our block party each year.

I hate to see post offices closed and possibly no Saturday service, and, yet, as I say, when I see how slowly some of the postal employees move, with seemingly no accountability, I see why closures are considered. Maybe we should complain more about those who don't do their jobs. I have heard there are employees in the Sausalito post office that may process two customers in an hour, and that with a line of people waiting. It is inexcusable, and so I blame us because we allow that and don't complain.

[zebulen]

I believe your accounts, and I have heard others like it. I have never seen it myself. I am always impressed by their reliability and personable nature, but maybe that is a product of being in a more rural area. They are accountable to their neighbors.

Our UPS man always seems to be on a do-it-or-die tight schedule. He has no time to chat. One summer, I worked with a retired UPS man. He told me about the LONG days and no acceptable excuses. It was all about the bottom line.

The two different delivery systems almost seem designed for two different types of economic systems.

[cathy_edgett]

Yes, I'm sure your rural area makes a difference as to service. Some of the people in my local post office seem almost brain-dead. I don't understand it, and others, like my delivery person are wonderful.

My UPS person is a wonderful young woman who went to school with my son, so she is super-sweet and friendly and everyone loves her, so like anything, we judge by the people we encounter.

Interesting on the UPS guy you spoke with. They definitely scurry about, though I was just in our UPS office and the guy was sitting there with nothing to do, and taped my package for me, and was friendly as can be, so again it depends on the individual and time of year. I think December is hectic for them all.

[zebulen]

I think you are exactly right. Our opinions are shaped largely by our personal experiences.

For instance, I don't know if I've ever met a female UPS driver. And I've met some pretty nice people working at Wal-Mart, so you just never know!

[braversir]

Unfortunately, the increasing amount of business being conducted electronically is bound to have an adverse effect on USPS volume. And now that USPS is a quasi-private organization rather than a direct branch of the Federal government as it once was many years ago, there is continuing pressure to show a profit. All this does not bode well for the traditional mission of the postal service: to serve all areas, including those that would otherwise be underserved, regardless of cost.

[zebulen]

At what point did the USPS have their government funding cut off? I'll have to do some research on that. Maybe there is a lesson in all of it.

I'm so tired of hearing politicians comparing government services to businesses. Everything is expected to turn a profit, or it is not seen as worthwhile. If only that standard were applied to our bloated military budget...

[neptunia67]

Hello Z, so good to hear from you.

I got pretty upset today when I read that the Post Office is going to stop processing Flagstaff mail here, instead transporting it down to Phoenix to be sorted and trucking it back here to deliver it. Phoenix is 140 miles away!

I relate to the nostalgia comment. I get so excited when I receive a letter or package, especially when it's unexpected. This stems back to my childhood and watching the post for things from my father. It brings out a little girl joy to open a card or package from the postman.

[zebulen]

I noticed that I am approaching the mark of 600 LJ entries and I want to cross it before the site implodes. :)

That is ridiculous, though there are probably similar stories around the U.S. I have read that virtually all sorting is done with machines now, so it must be cheaper than using actual people, no matter the distance.

Is there anything more American than the USPS? It seems like intrinsic value counts for nothing anymore. I fully expect us to sell off the State of Liberty for scrap metal in the future.