Personal Mail 1963-2011

The U. S. Post Office continues to lose money. They are planning to close processing centers so that first class mail will take longer to reach recipients. The only complaints seem to be from companies about bills and payments taking longer to get to the proper addresses.

Unlike the above commercial for zip codes from 1963, regular citizens of the USA do not seem to be affected by the projected change in mail delivery--or the media assumes we do not care. I object to it, because I like to write notes and cards to friends and family and dislike the way such mail will take longer for them to receive.

In 1963 the Post Office visibly encouraged people to use zip codes, because back then there was no internet and little long-distance phone service. Living in Japan 1961-64, we came back to direct dialing on the phone and zip codes for mail!

I feel sad that letter writing is a dying art. In fact, a dear friend died in October at the age of 94 years and she was my most consistent correspondent. Her demise and also her age illustrate that the era of handwritten correspondence is disappearing.

Now I feel like the Postal Service is contributing to the idea that handwritten correspondence is outdated and slow. Snail mail will be even slower in the future.

Sad. . . .maybe my age (61) also shows why I still like to write with a pen, though I must admit I don't do it as frequently or prolifically as I did in the past.

Don't you like to get a "real" note (not a bill or advertisement) in the mail? At least, we'll get a few more in this holiday season, but after that I don't know.