It's amazing how a package jammed with hate, from a flatulent fiend from a neighboring state, will find its way with no trouble to my doorstep*; however, a labor-of-love, indie comic (sent to my correct address, legibly penned on the envelope) somehow ends up lost in the shuffle.
In most instances when I receive mail (and that includes letters and bills), it's weeks after their intended, delivery date and often they're damaged.** I know that my local, USPS station has received the pieces in a timely fashion, since I see the evidence through my subscribed Informed Mail. Where they go from there, you got me.
So, what gives? I get every excuse under the sun, from it's due to a staffing shortage to "It's too hot" or "It's too cold" or "It's raining too hard" for carriers to fulfill their daily tasks. As to why mail gets lost, well, who knows. (I suppose some local poltergeist is to blame.)
The whole thing infuriates me, and I'm aware that it happens in places outside my Trenton/Hamilton sector, but it's plaguing me big time right here and now, and concerned folks are asking, "Did you receive what I sent you?" Alas, I'm too often compelled to reply no.
If you've sent me a DVD, book, CD or comic to review and enjoy, and I haven't responded, please reach out. You can do so on this post or better yet, email me at bizarrechats@gmail.com. Perhaps, as a backup, you can send me a digital copy of your material until the hard-copy situation is resolved. I know. I know. Digital stuff isn't the same as possessing the real, in-hand McCoy. I agree, but under these trying circumstances, it may have to do.
Here's the bottom line: USPS needs a serious overhaul, whether it be a meticulous restructuring from within or a private company taking over. I can't recall the mail flow ever being this bad, beyond that vexing, COVID period. The situation is inexcusable, and those who make excuses for the inadequacies ought to remember the old, postal adage: "Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays their couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." It worked way back when; it damn well should (and can) now.
* I did present the package in question to my local USPS. There was agreement among staff that the contents (in particular, a condescending letter which questioned my views on justice) were leaning on the creepy side, but I had to take a wait-and-see approach to the situation. Great. That was real reassuring. I did, get some oddball emails from the recipient sometime later, and well, the matter got all the more unnerving. Perhaps somewhere down the line I can flesh it out for anyone who's interested in knowing more.
ReplyDelete** I received a parcel from England containing a couple, PHANTOM OF THE OPERA magazines. Such was left on my porch on a dry, sunny day, but the package was soaked to the bone, as if it had been left out in the rain at some recent point or dumped in the river. Horrible, just horrible! To say the least, the magazines were ruined.
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