Cold Persists, and a Pet Peeve Aired!

 We are sort of in a holding pattern of cold air here this morning. We had a sifting of snow during the day yesterday, but it remained so cold, when I measured this morning, there wasn't enough moisture in that 1/4 inch of fairy dust to measure. We are still a little below zero, and the wind is gusting out of the north at a pretty good clip, making it seem like ten below or so. That's according to my weather station, not how I felt when I was outside trying to get measurements. It was so cold that as I shoveled off the deck, the frigid air was catching in my throat and making me cough. Not a day for man (woman) or beast to be outside.

I need to make a correction. I goofed badly a while back when I gave directions for sending orders for our West Danville history book. Orders (with checks enclosed) must go to the Historical Society's post office box, not their physical address. That box number is 274, so the complete address is: Danville Historical Society, P. O. Box 274, Danville, VT 05828.

So on this next subject, I'm a grumpy old lady. Used to be the post master in small towns like Danville, West Danville, Cabot, and even St. Johnsbury, knew their customers and made every effort to get their mail delivered to them. More than once, Garey Larrabee called me to find out if I knew where one of our JPA members was - had they left the pond and gone to their winter home? or, were they coming back in the next few days? He would sometimes hold their mail a few days until they got here if we knew they were en route in the spring rather than returning it to the sender. If someone sent mail to JPA (or anyone else in town) with no box number, you can bet Garey didn't stamp it "addressee unknown, return to sender. " I've known him to call me to ask if there was someone new at the pond if he didn't recognize a name. The same with postal clerks in Cabot and other towns. Now, that simply doesn't happen. It's "against the rules." Granted, things have changed radically in the postal service: there are not enough employees, and employees are often rotated in and out of towns fairly regularly so they may not be in one place long enough to become acquainted with their customers. However, even when they get to stay in one office over an extended period of time, they are instructed to return mail that isn't precisely addressed. So humans are expected to act more like computers. I guess I get that on some level - call it a Pavlov theory chain exercise: Train the employee to train the customer to get the desired outcome. However, it doesn't seem very efficient to me. It not only delays mail, but adds to the work load of everyone along the line in the postal department. Of course, it does generate more mail going through the system - it's called running up the numbers. I get it, but I don't like it. Then there's a privacy issue. If a mail clerk pays close attention to the information on an envelope, he/she could be accused of invading one's privacy, I suppose. It's a strange new world out there, and I admit I'd like to think we could go along with necessary changes, but that we could also retain some of the personal, common sense accommodations. It would seem like the neighborly thing to do.

However, I'm going back to my original post and will correct my mistake. And I'll be careful not to do THAT again! Pavlov would approve, and so will USPS.