Letting go of Saturdays

We need to be writing more letters.

What do you mean you bank online?

Stick a stamp in the right hand corner and send out your electricity, cable, telephone bills.

People are tapping their fingers against plastic square letters far too much to notice that the United States Postal Service suffered a $15.9 billion loss within this last year. These humans who travel in blue over thick flakes of snow and cold drips of rain and even in the sunshine when they’d prefer to be bathing beneath the yellow gaze and even on their birthday except
except
if it falls on a Sunday.

I used to know the name of my postal worker. Knew exactly when he’d be removing rubber band from gathered letters and lifting them into my designated box.

Dusty.

And right before I moved, exchanging zip code from one city to another, I wrote him a letter (which I would have mailed had I known his address) telling him how much he’d be missed.

I used to know the exact time my mail would arrive; roommates and lovers have commented on my obsessive mail-checking activities.

I know the mail came already but perhaps today is the day more will arrive.

I send letters not necessarily to get mail back (though that is nice when it happens). I send letters because so often we forget how magical it can be when we receive something other than a bill or mindless magazine.

I love Sundays because for me it is an intentional day of slowness. Maybe I will go to a museum or wake up later or watch a movie in bed or write for hours while sitting in my rocking chair. It is also the day my favorite section arrives in the New York Times (which is the one exception to this non-mail day, since the newspaper is delivered!)

Hard working postal workers take this day off, but soon we may be looking at empty mailboxes on Saturday too.

In an effort to save $2 billion, the U.S. Postal Service may be cutting down mail deliveries on Saturday, with an exception of packages.

This could turn Mondays into the most exciting day of the week: three days worth of accumulated mail delivered!

(sometimes it is necessary to take a break from pessimism in order to see the brighter side)

We may have to let go of Saturdays. So let’s make Mondays the busiest mail day of the year—a gesture toward the U.S.P.S. that we haven’t forgotten their indispensable existence.

So…..in an effort to aid this problem, write more.

Gather up your goods that you think _________ would appreciate and mail it out.

In all the time it takes to flutter fingers against tiny keys through text message correspondance, press your language onto paper, get a forever stamp (so many to choose from) and an envelope, and make someone’s day better.