Ben Stein gave a commentary about the post office recently on CBS News Sunday Morning. It brought back great memories of the joy of receiving letters from loved ones. Letter writing has become a lost art. Personally knowing your mailman was a wonderful relationship. As a child, my mailman passed out bubble gum to all the kids during his Saturday delivery. Poor guy would almost be mugged by neighborhood children racing to him. Can you imagine parents even allowing their kids to accept gum from the mailman today? Our times have definitely changed.
I was in agreement with most of Mr. Stein's comments until he got to the part that mailing a letter is cheap. Why, it's only 44 cents. He would be willing to pay a dollar to still have the privilege of using the postal system. At Christmas, that would be $80 in postage. Five bills a month times twelve months is another $60. Birthday cards generally equal two a month so that comes to another $24. So I'm already up to $164. People are already pressed from all sides on gas, food, clothing, etc. While I would hate to see the postal service go the wayside, I do believe that things can't always stay the same just because it's tradition.
The postal service shouldn't be shut down as that would only create thousands of people added to the unemployment list. However, they need to make more changes to streamline. I don't see it being a bad thing to stop Saturday delivery. Or for those with mailboxes attached to their house, they should have to have a mailbox curbside instead. Or more neighborhoods can have the one mail box on the corner with everyone's box combined. Pensions shouldn't be changed when someone has counted on that for over thirty years of their career, but for new people starting their career, pensions should be changed.
All that being said, I truly hope this won't be an institution to go by the wayside. I wish more people would rekindle this relationship. I will forever keep the one and only letter I received from my father. Not only his words, but his handwriting. We can keep in touch via electronic communication, but to see words in script adds so much personality. It's so much fun to receive cards on your birthday or anniversary. Greeting cards during the holidays brighten my day.
Mr. Stein, I hope the price of a stamp doesn't go up to a dollar anytime soon, but I do hope we keep this wonderful institution open for a long time to come.
"Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Hail Shall Keep the Postmen from their appointed rounds."
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