A Year of Blogging: September 7, 2011

September 7 was 'Neither Rain now Snow Day'. It's a day to commemorate the opening of the New York Post Office in 1914. Ninety-seven years later, the news is that the Post Office is in 'dire straights'. The news was that the Post Office will default this month if something major isn't done. Yet, don't be alarmed, we were assured the Post Office wasn't going under. You may have heard that 'Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.' This actually, is NOT the motto of the Post Office. The US Post Office HAS no official motto. Well, that would explain why you don't see a mail truck when we get a little snowstorm! This phrase is inscribed on the Post Office building in New York (located at 8th Ave and 33rd St). It can be found in the works of Herodotus. I don't use the Post Office as much as I used to. Sure, I pay most of my bills by check through the mail because I like writing checks. I could easily use online bill pay, although I've resisted this long. Certainly if there were no mail, it would make work a little easier- we wouldn't be mailing 500 pieces of marketing each week (marketing which I have to print, stuff, and put postage on). I think the time I would miss the Post Office would be at Christmas. How would I deliver my Christmas cards with the dogs' letter to all of my friends? I also love getting Christmas cards, and would miss them dearly. Maybe we all need to go back to writing letters, instead of using email. Remember when you had to wait weeks for your friends to write back? I miss that. If we were still writing letters, students would still need to learn cursive in school. The Post Office wouldn't be on the verge of default. But we are in an electronic age. Everything is about instant gratification. So we just have to hope the Post Office can flex without breaking. Or at least hold on until the Christmas season when I can provide a lifeline!