This July, the price of first class postage goes up a whole nickel, from 68 to 73 cents, another step toward the inevitable demise of the Christmas card. I remember the national outcry when stamps went up a penny, from five to six cents. Eventually the shock wore off, and a few dozen rate hikes later, here we are.
Remember when you looked forward to going to the mailbox? What wondrous envelope would be awaiting you? It could be air mail from overseas, or just from across town, sealed with a kiss. Every day, the questions were the same: “Has the mail run?” “I don’t know, is the flag still up?”
In 5th grade, I used to send off for autographed pictures. My teacher, in an effort to teach us how to write letters and address envelopes, had us send autograph requests to TV stars in Hollywood. A few days later, I would sprint to the mailbox for my 8 x 10 glossy of the Monkees, Gilligan, or Barbara Eden (Jeannie!).
Yes, mail was once a lovely thing. It was an efficient way to receive and pay bills, but it was also our window to the world. Before television, it brought us colorful magazines with pictures of places we could never afford to visit. Pre-internet, the mail carrier delivered weekly news magazines that documented history as it was being made.
Of course, like everything else good, somebody found a way to mess up the mail. They were not yet bold enough to steal directly from your mailbox, so they devised ways to rip you off with a letter and a stamp. Fake preachers would send authentic looking “handwritten” letters to elderly people, promising them eternal life in exchange for their monthly check. I knew some people who fell victim to this scam, and it still angers me today.
The contents of the mail, and the quality of delivery have changed over the years. The miracle of tracking has revealed major inefficiencies in the “new, improved” shipping system. Many of us have horror stories of packages we have sent to someone 30 miles away that bounce from Knoxville to Birmingham to Atlanta and back, for no apparent reason. I have experienced the agony of shipping a book overseas that first touched both US coasts more than once, often sitting in limbo for days before eventually finding its way to a foreign land.
Amazon and other retailers now make up a huge portion of the content of your mail carrier’s vehicle. But as we’ve seen in recent years, many of those packages somehow get stacked up at the neighborhood post office for days on end.
Over the holidays, our newscasts were filled with images of rain-soaked packages yet to be delivered, on pallets outside post offices. Customers complained about late Christmas presents and prescription drugs, but postal clerks could not provide answers as to their whereabouts. This, despite annual price increases always accompanied by promises of better, faster service.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has inspired very little uh, joy within the ranks of postal employees. They are on the front lines, attempting to soothe the nerves of frustrated customers who just want their package delivered.
The upcoming rate hike would be the fifth since DeJoy took office in 2020. Appointed by former President Donald Trump, DeJoy has implemented many changes, most of which have come under fire.
Mail sorting facilities have been closed or consolidated, many curbside mail boxes outside post offices have been removed, and with a close presidential election likely in November, there are concerns about whether mail-in ballots will be delivered securely and on time.
Recently, Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) scorched DeJoy during a Senate hearing, for not responding to his concerns about delayed mail in a Palmetto, Georgia distribution center. The senator repeatedly asked, “Did you get my letter?” DeJoy struggled to answer, creating a comical scene in which the Postmaster General couldn’t confirm receiving mail on time.
President Joe Biden cannot fire DeJoy. Only the Postal Service Board of Governors can do that. So far that hasn’t happened. Unless of course, the termination letter is lost in the mail.
