What's Wrong with the US Government
Today's rant is about the postal service.
I have a friend in Wyoming hiking and camping. He's been there for three weeks and is planning on staying for another two months. I promised to send him his mail from time to time, but never know where he's going to be.
My friend called me the other day and said "send it General Delivery to Pinedale, Wyoming." I put everything in an envelope and rode my bike to the Pacific Beach Post Office to mail it. They couldn't help me. Apparently the United States Postal Service has no ability to find the zip code for general delivery in Pinedale, population under two thousand people. Now Pinedale is a small town as are most towns in Wyoming so I know there's only one post office. I told the postal worker this and she asked her co-workers and they all decided I needed to go to the Midway Post Office, which is six miles away. Now six miles to you rural folks might not sound like much, but for us city folks, six miles of stop signs, traffic signals and up and down hills and back again in under an hour (when I had to be home) wasn't going to happen on my bike. I guess I could have ridden home, started up a car and driven there, but then it would by seven miles there and seven miles back getting close to rush hour.
I felt like I was in the twilight zone. If a person cannot not obtain a zip code from a United States Post Office, then where, I ask, would I find one? So I rode my bike three blocks to the library, got on the library computer, went to the USPS website and searched for the zip code for the street address of "General Delivery" in Pinedale, Wyoming. And I had the zip code.
Then I had to go back to the Post Office to mail the package. Am I the only person who sees something wrong with this picture?
I have a friend in Wyoming hiking and camping. He's been there for three weeks and is planning on staying for another two months. I promised to send him his mail from time to time, but never know where he's going to be.
My friend called me the other day and said "send it General Delivery to Pinedale, Wyoming." I put everything in an envelope and rode my bike to the Pacific Beach Post Office to mail it. They couldn't help me. Apparently the United States Postal Service has no ability to find the zip code for general delivery in Pinedale, population under two thousand people. Now Pinedale is a small town as are most towns in Wyoming so I know there's only one post office. I told the postal worker this and she asked her co-workers and they all decided I needed to go to the Midway Post Office, which is six miles away. Now six miles to you rural folks might not sound like much, but for us city folks, six miles of stop signs, traffic signals and up and down hills and back again in under an hour (when I had to be home) wasn't going to happen on my bike. I guess I could have ridden home, started up a car and driven there, but then it would by seven miles there and seven miles back getting close to rush hour.
I felt like I was in the twilight zone. If a person cannot not obtain a zip code from a United States Post Office, then where, I ask, would I find one? So I rode my bike three blocks to the library, got on the library computer, went to the USPS website and searched for the zip code for the street address of "General Delivery" in Pinedale, Wyoming. And I had the zip code.
Then I had to go back to the Post Office to mail the package. Am I the only person who sees something wrong with this picture?
Labels: Government
posted by Karin Zirk at
7:08 PM
3 Comments:
Amen to all that Karin points out here.
Indeed I dare say that the crazier that our world becomes, the more cracks there are for each of us to fall between (“crazy”, I remind you, literally means “full of cracks”). And cracks seem to be forming just as fast as they can heal.
A secondary message I would highlight, consistent with Karin's words, is that our culture has peaked out on hostility to green forms of transportation. We should all be walking or using our bicycles for the very sake of the planet and all who are to follow.
Sadly, those forms of getting around are scarcely supported at all.
Conversely, if you own a gas guzzler, there is no shortage of roads upon which to drive them, stations to fill them up, nor other amenities to serve their every imaginable need.
This planet is out of balance. And yes, the Post Office really should have all it's information together just to avoid wasted energy, be in human or otherwise.
Peace to the planet!
That is hilarious! sad, but hilarious!
Your tax dollars
hard at work,
ladies and gentlemen.
Funny story, to boot. Long live the public libraries!
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