Peevish Pen

Ruminations on reading, writing, genealogy and family history, rural living, retirement, aging—and sometimes cats.

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Location: Rural Virginia, United States

I'm an elderly retired teacher who writes. Among my books are Ferradiddledumday (Appalachian version of the Rumpelstiltskin story), Stuck (middle grade paranormal novel), Patches on the Same Quilt (novel set in Franklin County, VA), Them That Go (an Appalachian novel), Miracle of the Concrete Jesus & Other Stories, and several Kindle ebooks.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Snail mail?

On May 28, I sent a package to friends in Newport News. On June 9, it came back to me with three "Attempted, Not Known" messages stamped on it. One of those messages even pointed to my own return address.

Note how discreetly I have protected their identity.

Also, my name was smudged out on my return address sticker. What's with that? Anyhow, the package eventually returned to the Penhook post office, the postmaster and mail delivery man know where I live, and I got the package back.

What why wasn't it delivered in the first place? The address was correct (I've been there) and the names were spelled correctly. I checked online obituaries to make sure the intended recipients were alive (they were) and then emailed to confirm they still existed (they did).

Anyhow, now that postal rates have gone up, I expected a little better service.

I re-sent the package on Wednesday. We'll see how long it takes to get there. Or how long it takes to get back again.

~

5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hooray for the USPS!! This time the 2nd time was the charm! Or maybe it was just "divine intervention!" Who knows why they couldn't find us the first time?!! Hope it's not an ill omen...anyway, thanks for the package of goodies - arrived yesterday.

10:46 AM  
Blogger Becky Mushko said...

It only took three days for you to get it this time?! I didn't mail it until late Wednesday.

. . . and you're welcome (Note: this puts me one "hostess gift" ahead.)

. . . and to blogger Amy H. who reads this blog: One of the "goodies" I sent was your Laker article about SML oddities.

12:06 PM  
Blogger Greener Pastures--A City Girl Goes Country said...

I hope I'm not jinxing myself, but I usually don't have problems when I buy a delivery confirmation. I suspect they actually do their job when they know you can track them.

I am also trying to switch everything over to email. Postage costs too much nowadays. Of course you have no choice with packages.

www.GreenerPastures--ACityGirlGoesCountry.blogspot.com

11:15 PM  
Blogger Clementine said...

That's strange. Did you ever get an explanation?

6:15 PM  
Blogger Becky Mushko said...

The local postmaster couldn't figure out why the package wasn't delivered. At least I didn't have to pay postage again.

I still can't figure why my name was smudged out. I tried to smudge the rest of my return address, and it wasn't easy.

7:06 PM  

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