Love Letters
Only 1,436 days to go...
In December, after I returned to Asheville from being a “climate refugee” for two months, I went to my local post office to arrange to have my mail delivery started up again. There was a long line. Apparently, a number of the local post office facilities as well as people’s homes were destroyed in the hurricane so various zip codes were being rerouted to my local P.O.
There was one woman, who was clearly in distress. She had a plastic bag of items that she wanted to ship to her daughter. She was trying to figure out the packaging etc. and several people in the queue tried to help her. In the end, she couldn’t mail the items because she didn’t have enough money and was confused about what to do.
It got me thinking. What is the role of the US Postal Service today? In these days when the next generation can’t even read cursive writing, seldom read their email and want to text in memes and abbreviations, I wonder do we actually need a postal service or can this government function simply be eliminated?
There are so many, and for years, I was one of them, who thought the USPS should be a thriving business that competed in the marketplace with FedEx or UPS. I’ve thought again and have changed my opinion over the years. With individual stamps costing 73¢ each, it’s no wonder that people are sending fewer cards and letters.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) began in 1775. The Post Office Act of 1792 established the Postal Service as a permanent part of the federal government. Benjamin Franklin was the first postmaster general. The Post Office Department supported freedom of the press and the privacy of mail and helped expand the nation's infrastructure.
But in 1970, Congress passed the Postal Reorganization Act, which transformed the Post Office Department into the USPS. The USPS is an independent entity within the executive branch of the federal government. The USPS is funded by revenue from stamp and package sales, rather than taxpayer dollars.
I grew up in the suburbs. Although we had a little post office in town where we could buy stamps or mail packages, it was simply a small storefront where people rarely gathered. Our mail was delivered directly into the mail slot of our house. Our mailman was Bill and we all knew him and were excited, when he saw him walking down our street with a big mailbag over his shoulder. (Thursdays must have been a killer day for him, because that was day that two heavy magazines were delivered: Life and the local Pioneer Press publication!)
Bill was part of the fabric of our neighborhood. I remember once, when the postal workers went on strike and we had no mail delivery for some time. No one was more surprised than Bill, when my mother ran out to welcome him back and gave him a big hug!
I lived in a small village, so I'm not sure how many mail routes there were - I doubt if Bill was the only mailman. Later, I thought it was irresponsible for the Post Office to replace Bill (and I assume others) with these impersonal folks driving around in little vehicles at the very same moment that OPEC launched its first oil embargo. Maybe this was a result of making the post office an independent entity. I suppose little carts were cheaper than labor costs.
Somewhere along the way, the mission has been to make the USPS profitable -- run it like a business. But it begs the question, should government services be profitable? Is that the role of government? Or is the role of government to provide affordable services that we can subsidize with our taxes?
If everything were just about profits, then we would only have toll roads instead of an Interstate transportation system linking us together. In a small town, the post office is so much more than a business -- it's a lifeline to the outside world. It's also a way to connect with your neighbors.
I can relate on some level. I live in a gated community where our mail is delivered to the Gazebo, which is sort of a central hub with bulletin boards, mail cubbies for neighborhood communications and PO boxes for the USPS mail. But the Gazebo is so much more. My physical home is located next to the Gazebo, so I can look out my window and see so many of my neighbors gather and catch up with each other. It’s sort like a rural post office.
I never really understood the role of a post office in a small town, until I met a rural post-mistress in 1976. A friend had just graduated from college and I was between jobs, so our mothers thought we might want to take a vacation together. Kathy and I got together at the bicentennial gathering in town and discussed various destinations and then came up with the brilliant idea of making it a “Bicentennial Tour of America.” I remember the trip with so much fondness — it was a fabulous experience.
We drove west to California and worked our way home eventually heading north to Arkansas to visit Aunt Ada and Uncle Buddy (the siblings of Kathy’s grandfather). Aunt Ada had been the postmistress in this sleepy rural community for decades. We went and saw where she worked. There were notices posted and people gathering to chat. It was clear that Aunt Ada was the source of much information as she had immaculately and lovingly cared for this local institution.
I do believe there is a role for the USPS. Perhaps mail doesn’t have to be delivered overnight. If speed of delivery is the mission, then perhaps a premium should be paid and folks should use other services like UPS or FedEx. Even the Pony Express was operated by the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company -- not the United States government. During its 18 months of operation beginning in 1860, the Pony Express reduced the time for messages to travel between the east and west US coast to about 10 days.
Maybe there should be an affordable service that doesn’t have to be run like a business? While I don’t have the answer, a part of me can’t help but believe that we need more touchpoints, where neighbors see and talk to each other and don’t just communicate through social media. Perhaps we need to send one another more letters, kind notes and thoughtful cards, rather than just texting amusing emojis.
On September 27, 2024 Hurricane Helene swept through Asheville and took out our electricity, cellular service and internet. But in my little community we had the Gazebo — our own little post office of sorts where news could be shared, people could gather and the community could bind.
"Love will find a way through paths where wolves fear to prey." — Lord Byron
With our ubiquitous smart phones, it is wonderful that we are constantly connected to friends and family. And while it’s nice to stay connected virtually, there is really nothing sweeter than receiving an actual letter. So, this year, I want to thank my sister for giving me that thrill by sending me a real Valentine’s Day card.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thought for the day…
“Give me the old familiar world, post-office and all, with this ever new self, with this infinite expectation and faith, which does not know when it is beaten.” ~Henry David Thoreau
What I read every day…
Quote of the day:
“Apart from the sacrificial demise of Matt Gaetz’s bid to become attorney general, the auditions of Trump’s other absurd, provocative choices for crucial posts have been successful or seem destined to succeed, thanks to Republican senators’ abject capitulation. Those lawmakers have decided to disregard the Senate’s ‘advise and consent’ role and to ignore what many of them really do recognize — in rare moments of honest reflection — as Trump’s wicked, dangerous ways.
Oh, they have their talking points. Their rococo rationalizations. They tell the world or themselves that they’re simply respecting the will of voters by giving a duly elected president his preferred team. That they’ll be keeping a close eye on how these unconventional department and agency heads perform. That they’ll speak up and step in if such intervention is required. (Pro tip: Don’t hold your breath.)”
~Frank Bruni, No nominee is a provocateur too far for Susan Collins & Co.
What I’m reading today…
Elon Musk’s Business Empire Scores Benefits Under Trump Shake-Up
Trump has fired top officials and pushed out career employees. Many of them were leading investigations, enforcement matters or lawsuits pending against Mr. Musk’s companies. At least 11 federal agencies that have been affected by those moves have more than 32 continuing investigations, pending complaints or enforcement actions into Mr. Musk’s six companies.
The World’s Most Powerful Unelected Bureaucrat
The most powerful unelected bureaucrat in the United States today—and perhaps ever—is Elon Musk. The social-media troll and tech mogul is currently a “special government employee” leading something called the Department of Government Efficiency, though it is neither a department nor, as far as can be ascertained, all that interested in improving efficiency. DOGE’s clearest goal seems to be getting rid of as many civil servants as possible, by whatever means possible—including cajoling, buyouts, and firings, some of which have drawn reproach from courts.
Shortly after he was confirmed as President Donald Trump’s transportation secretary, Sean Duffy circulated a memo that instructed his department to prioritize families by, among other things, giving preference to communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average when awarding grants….With hundreds of billions of dollars in transportation money still unspent from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, such changes could be a boon for projects in Republican-majority states, which on average have higher fertility rates than those leaning Democratic.
Tracking Trump's executive actions by category
President Trump has signed more than 75 executive orders, memos and proclamations during his first few weeks in office at a pace that surpasses his most recent predecessors'. The executive actions reflect much of Trump's rhetoric on the campaign trail: reducing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; cracking down on immigration; and formalizing "America First" foreign policy.
Trump Says the Corrupt Part Out Loud
Trump has quietly put together a policy theme—call it “Corruption Week”—for which he has actually delivered the goods. Whether Trump did this intentionally or just had numerous pro-corruption initiatives coincidentally stacked up on his desk is hard to say. What seems clear, however, is that Trump genuinely believes in corruption as a normal and acceptable way to do business.
What a dozen roses may cost you this Valentine’s Day
FinanceBuzz, a financial information resource, recently analyzed prices for a standard dozen long-stem red roses from at least three florists or flower shops in each state, then averaged the costs to determine the statewide price. The national average for a dozen roses this Valentine's Day is $90.50. That's a 2% increase from last year, according to FinanceBuzz.
Trump is assaulting his own legitimacy
Over the past several weeks, Trump and consigliere Elon Musk have embarked on an unprecedented barrage of illegality, including an attempt to destroy whole government agencies and misappropriate (and likely misuse) government and personal data on a massive scale. In the face of compliant Republican majorities in both houses of Congress, the only brakes on the MAGA crime spree have come from a handful of federal judges who have issued injunctive decrees prohibiting some portions of the criminal scheme.
What’s Most Frightening About Trump’s Gaza Ravings
President Trump’s plan to take over Gaza, remove its two million Palestinians and turn the coastal desert strip into some sort of Club Med proves only one thing: how short a distance it is between out-of-the-box thinking and out-of-your-mind thinking... Trump’s proposal is the single most idiotic and dangerous Middle East “peace” initiative ever put out by an American president. I’m not sure what is more frightening: Trump’s Gaza proposal, which seems to change by the day, or the speed with which his aides and cabinet members — almost none of whom were even briefed on it in advance — nodded their approval to the idea like a collection of bobblehead dolls.
Trump-ordered hiring freeze could threaten Smokies and Parkway operations post-Helene
In Western North Carolina, a region devastated by Tropical Storm Helene and where the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway draw in millions of visitors each year, the effect of the hiring freeze and buyouts could be even more pronounced, especially on communities recovering from the Sept. 27 storm.
Where unemployment is rising and falling
Dalton, Georgia (+3.5 percentage points); Asheville, North Carolina (+2.6); and Muskegon, Michigan (+2.1), had the biggest increases in metro-level unemployment.
The woebegone 118th Congress enacted 274 public laws—fewer than any other Congress since the Civil War. With Republicans controlling the House and Democrats controlling the Senate, in an era of keen partisan enmities, expectations coming out of the 2022 midterms were low, and yet somehow our legislators failed to meet them. They steered clear of government shutdowns and debt-ceiling meltdowns, but that is about the best that can be said.
America’s ‘Marriage Material’ Shortage
A marriage or romantic partnership can be many things: friendship, love, sex, someone to gossip with, someone to remind you to take out the trash. But, practically speaking marriage is also insurance. Women have historically relied on men to act as insurance policies—against the threat of violence, the risk of poverty. To some, this might sound like an old-fashioned, even reactionary, description of marriage, but its logic still applies… As a result, “a lot of young men today just don’t look like what women have come to think of as ‘marriage material.’”