Neither Rain Nor Sleet

This is the oath or motto of the U.S. Postal Service: Neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. But it is a bunch of bull.

We had 2" of snow on Tuesday. We got our mail that day, albeit at 7:30pm. But it's usually late, often arriving between 4:30 and 6:00pm.

Tuesday night through Wednesday, we had sleet and rain. Yep, it made the streets slick, but OPM didn't close the Federal Government, and my partner and I were able to our respective places of employment in Washington, DC. Yet we did not get any mail delivery on Wednesday.

Perhaps I could understand that because it was icy. We made it, but my truck has 4-wheel drive. Those trucks used by the postal carriers have very poor traction. Okay, I'll give 'em a break.

Yesterday, Thursday, it was bright and sunny. The temperature climbed so that much of the icy roadways melted. By afternoon, our street cleared itself. I worked at home, and took some time out to take advantage of the sun's help to fully clear my driveway and sidewalks from accumulated ice. I also noticed while I was working outside that deliveries were made to neighbors by UPS, DHL, and FedEx. But... once again... no U.S. mail.

Two days in a row... no mail. This is absurd. Especially since schools re-opened on Thursday (though two hours late.)

And don't try to find the name of your local Postmaster or the telephone number of your local post office on-line. They're very good at hiding this information from you. I happen to know the contact information for my local P.O., but only because I persisted in finding it out a few months ago when they lost a piece of certified mail and blamed me for not returning the notification card on time (which I did, but they lost the card in addition to losing the mail which eventually showed up, but that's another story.)

It was all over the news that the President was astounded that his daughters' school was closed for two days. He was incredulous because they never close schools due to weather in Chicago where he lived prior to moving to DC.

All I can say, Mr. O, is "welcome to the Cone of Dumbness." Yep, DC is composed of a bunch of weather wimps. And if I hear one more person interviewed on the news who says, "our winter weather in the DC area is worse than Chicago's because we get ice" (emphasis on the "i-word"), I'll scream. Face it, there are more attorneys per square centimeter in the DC area than in Chicago, so the schools close because of fear of legal action. I even heard one local school superintendent interviewed on the news stating pretty much the same concern.

Meanwhile, I'll be lookin' for my mail. Wish me luck!