Sunday, April 29, 2007

So Much for Living in a Small Town

Everyone's read my past posts about how much this place is getting to me, but this broke the camel's back.

A week ago, I sent off my electric bill. As the post office was closed, I taped two quarters on the back like I've always done in the past when the post office was closed, knowing that the postmaster who knew me well and had even bought my books from me as Christmas presents, would stamp my mail and leave the change in my box.

Today, after a slow day at work (three tables total) and not in a particular jolly mood might I add, I walk in and there's my electric bill laying on my desk. No stamp. And the quarters? Someone had taken them off and God knows where they are but I'm presuming someone's pocket.

I know it wasn't the kind lady I've always dealt with and I'm presuming someone new.

Now, how low can one person go to steal fifty cents? I had deposited the letter into the inside slot so I'm very certain the quarters had not come undone and, even if they had, they would be lying there in the little box where all the mail drops (this is a small town so there's just so many that would be lying there between 5 in the afternoon and the wee hours of the morning when the postmasters arrive).

What it basically boils down to is someone had taken my fifty cents and put my electric bill back into my mailbox.

How low can someone be? I know it's not their priority to go to the trouble and take my money to buy stamps and stamp my envelope for me, but take the fifty cents off the back and pocket it?

Am I being unreasonable here???

And this only adds to the frustration of living here. It's pretty bad when your local postmaster is a thief, too, and it only leads me to wonder just what else might have been stolen there, and gives me more incentive to find a place I can call home where maybe, just maybe, you can trust those that deliver your mail.

I'm quite frustrated and will let them know this Monday morning.

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3 comments:

  1. I would most certainly confront whoever is in charge of taking the mail from that particular slot and do it darned fast. The money is not the crux of the matter, it is the fact the postal authorities are to be trusted. We get our mail at what is called "cluster boxes" here as they closed the post office in this little village 13 years ago this summer. So for folks who can't drive to the nearest post office, we can put money on the envelope for postage or in a separate envelope taped to the outgoing mail and the clerk at the regular post office gets the stamp put on the outgoing mail and returns any change in a little brown postal envelope the next day directly to the individual's mailbox.

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  2. You've been darn lucky up to now. In a big city, where I live, you'd have no chance of anyone doing something nice for you like leaving CHANGE for your postage. They just return the dar thing to you--and, yeah, I'm pretty sure the 50 cents would be gone, too.

    Hate to say it, but this is the way the world is going. We in urban places like to think that small towns are like Mayberry, but I'm afraid the snarkiness is getting everywhere.

    All of a sudden Blogger won't take my password.--

    Lynn

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  3. I agree with Lynn - I've never lived in a place where you could actually tape money to an envelope and the post office would convert it to postage. Wow - how fabulous is that??? So sad to see even these small gestures disappearing, though. Very sad, indeed.

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