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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / February 2006my, how time flies
A while ago, just a few weeks to my memory, I got a PO Box. Paid for 6 months. I kept telling myself I'd check it soon, but hadn't. Well. I finally got my butt into the post office (just a half mile or so from where I work) and ... the PO Box was locked. Seems I haven't checked the damn thing in over 6 months. It hadn't yet been reserved, so I was able to pay for another 6 months and even get all the mail that had accumulated (not much). Still. How did 6 months slip by so quickly? I felt a little bit better when the guy behind the counter told me this was a pretty common problem.  Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > A while ago, just a few weeks to my memory, I got a PO Box. Paid for > 6 months. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > I felt a little bit better when the guy behind the counter told me > this was a pretty common problem. Why do you need a P.O. Box? Why can't your mail come directly to your house like mine does? Tweed >> A while ago, just a few weeks to my memory, I got a PO Box. Paid for >> 6 months. [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >Why do you need a P.O. Box? Why can't your mail come directly to your house >like mine does? I don't know Christine's reason, but I know that, when I had a house fire back in 2002, I chose to rent a PO box during the time I was living in a long-term-stay hotel, and for several months afterwards. I was in a hotel, rather than an apartment, because that was what my insurance company would pay for. I was a couple of miles from work, but about 20 miles from my house, so it was convenient to not have to drive by my house each day. At the hotel, all incoming mail was on a general-delivery basis at the front desk, so I preferred to have a PO box where I wouldn't have to worry about anyone rummaging through my mail and possibly pocketing financial data. I changed my mailing address from my home address to the PO box, then changed it back again after the repairs on my house were completed. I kept the PO box for a full year, even though my house repairs took just over 3 months, in order to make sure that my correspondents (personal mail, bills, etc.) had changed back to my street address. Some of them took more than one reminder in order to make the change. SignatureJohn F. Eldredge -- john@jfeldredge.com PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu "Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria >> A while ago, just a few weeks to my memory, I got a PO Box. Paid for >> 6 months. [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > Tweed If no one is home during the day, it might be safer that way. We have been told to watch our boxes carefully because there have been mail thieves active in this region.-- especially those who have a mailbox at the curb rather than the house. MLB >>> A while ago, just a few weeks to my memory, I got a PO Box. Paid >>> for 6 months. [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > mailbox > at the curb rather than the house. MLB I get my mail at the curb and even when I'm not home during the day I pick it up when I come home in the evening. It's no more fearful than renting a P.O. box and walking in to get something in a quiet enclosed unguarded space. Jill > >>> A while ago, just a few weeks to my memory, I got a PO Box. Paid > >>> for 6 months. [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > > Jill I think she means your *mail* is much safer, not you. Most home mailboxes don't lock (although I think some apartments do). Anyone can steal your mail, and that's one way identity theives work. At a PO box, no one has access to your mail. A friend of mine had a box of new checks stolen from her front door mailbox. It was a real nightmare for her. Sherry >>>>> A while ago, just a few weeks to my memory, I got a PO Box. Paid >>>>> for 6 months. [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] > > Sherry If anyone wants to steal my identity they are welcome to it! I am in debt up to my ears although I'm holding my own. They are welcome to my credit cards (on which they can charge nothing) and hey, I don't get checks in the mail every week! Have fun being me, guys! LOL Jill > If anyone wants to steal my identity they are welcome to it! I am > in debt up to my ears although I'm holding my own. They are welcome > to my credit cards (on which they can charge nothing) and hey, I > don't get checks in the mail every week! Have fun being me, guys! > LOL Argh. I see your point. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > I think she means your *mail* is much safer, not you. Most home > mailboxes don't lock (although I think some apartments do). Anyone > can steal your mail, and that's one way identity theives work. At a > PO box, no one has access to your mail. A friend of mine had a box > of new checks stolen from her front door mailbox. It was a real > nightmare for her. Our neighborhood has one communal mailbox area for every 10 or so houses. It's an ugly beige box with a mail slot for each house, each with its own lock. If you get a package, it gets put in one of the two larger bins and the key is in your slot. It's really ugly, but I guess it does keep people out of your mail. And keeps kids from banging up your mailboxes. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca >>A while ago, just a few weeks to my memory, I got a PO Box. Paid for >>6 months. [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > Tweed Here in Oz most people living outside towns have to have a PO box in town as there's no mail delivery to many rural or remote properties. Dunno if that applies in Monique's case though. >>>A while ago, just a few weeks to my memory, I got a PO Box. Paid for >>>6 months. [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > as there's no mail delivery to many rural or remote properties. Dunno if > that applies in Monique's case though. Ok tell the truth now you don't want the brown paper wrapped items to come to your house :-D <snicker snicker like a little kid > > "Helen Wheels" <helenwheelss@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message <snippity> >>Here in Oz most people living outside towns have to have a PO box in town >>as there's no mail delivery to many rural or remote properties. Dunno if [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > <snicker snicker like a little kid > :) I do like mail order stuff though. It's still fun to open the parcels even when you know what it's going to be! >> A while ago, just a few weeks to my memory, I got a PO Box. Paid >> for 6 months. [snip] > Why do you need a P.O. Box? Why can't your mail come directly to > your house like mine does? My personal mail does. I've been trying to start a little business, and my husband didn't feel comfortable advertising our home address as the contact location. Thus the box. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca >>> A while ago, just a few weeks to my memory, I got a PO Box. Paid >>> for 6 months. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > and my husband didn't feel comfortable advertising our home address as > the contact location. Thus the box. Obviously you aren't all that excited about this business or you would have been jumping at the chance to check the box every chance you got. Who knows what you missed in 6 months? Jill >> My personal mail does. I've been trying to start a little >> business, and my husband didn't feel comfortable advertising our [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Jill Well, I got a lot of the pieces together, but I didn't advertise at all. I had one advertising plan, and when that plan fell through, I didn't have a backup plan. So, without advertising, I wasn't too worried about missing anything. In any event, I didn't envision the PO Box as the first means of contact. It's not that I'm not excited about the business; it's that I have a more than full time job already, and some other timesinks that have come up. When I get home, it's hard to think of doing anything but veg. Obviously, I need to make the time if I really care about it. Argh, I feel like I'm being attacked when all I wanted to say is "wow, I can't believe how fast 6 months flew by." I opened myself up for commentary by posting, but sheesh. I don't see how it hurts anyone for me to spend $14 on 6 months of a PO Box. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca >>> My personal mail does. I've been trying to start a little >>> business, and my husband didn't feel comfortable advertising our [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > up for commentary by posting, but sheesh. I don't see how it hurts > anyone for me to spend $14 on 6 months of a PO Box. I'm not attacking you! Please don't feel that way, Monique! It' just sounds a bit odd, is all. I would be interested in this business you are trying to start up. But I can't send you money :) Jill >>> Obviously you aren't all that excited about this business or you >>> would have been jumping at the chance to check the box every [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > just sounds a bit odd, is all. I would be interested in this > business you are trying to start up. But I can't send you money :) Sorry; I guess I'm a little testy. I do feel foolish for opening a PO Box and never checking it. So I read your post as "You shouldn't even bother with this business." I do feel guilty for not spending more time on it. The business is cover letter consultation. I've seen a lot of bad cover letters! I'm sure I could make a difference, if only I found the time! Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > The business is cover letter consultation. I've seen a lot of bad > cover letters! I'm sure I could make a difference, if only I found > the time! That's a great business idea. I am a good writer, but I have recently discovered, after reading an article called "Top 10 Cover Letter Errors" (or something like that), that I've made a number of classic mistakes on my cover letters. And I'm not exactly a newbie at job-hunting, either. I would use a business like yours, but I can't afford it, because I don't have a job! :) Joyce > > The business is cover letter consultation. I've seen a lot of bad > > cover letters! I'm sure I could make a difference, if only I [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > at job-hunting, either. I would use a business like yours, but I > can't afford it, because I don't have a job! :) Well, that very point may be why it's not a great business idea =P But I'll wait to make that decision till I have given it a real chance. So far, I have some great ideas on how to make contacts -- I just haven't pursued them =/ Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > > I would use a business like yours, but I > > can't afford it, because I don't have a job! :) > > > Well, that very point may be why it's not a great business idea =P Except for the people who are job-hunting while they are currently working (at a job they don't like or whatever). And really, I should be willing to fork out some cash for things that would help me get a job - it's an investment. It's just that right now, I'm not in my normal state of low funds - I'm actually wondering how I'm going to pay February's rent, which is 7 days late! Joyce - trying to get up the nerve to ask a couple of people if I can borrow some money... > > > I would use a business like yours, but I > > > can't afford it, because I don't have a job! :) [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Joyce - trying to get up the nerve to ask a couple of people if I can > borrow some money... Also, anything you spend in a job search is tax deductible. SignatureHugs, CatNipped See all my masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped/ > And really, I should be willing to fork out some cash for things > that would help me get a job - it's an investment. It's just that > right now, I'm not in my normal state of low funds - I'm actually > wondering how I'm going to pay February's rent, which is 7 days > late! Ouch. I hope something comes through for you, and soon! Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > Argh, I feel like I'm being attacked when all I wanted to say is "wow, > I can't believe how fast 6 months flew by." I opened myself > up for commentary by posting, but sheesh. I don't see how it hurts > anyone for me to spend $14 on 6 months of a PO Box. I was wondering that myself. Why does anyone need an explanation for why you prefer to use a PO Box?? Joyce >>> A while ago, just a few weeks to my memory, I got a PO Box. Paid >>> for 6 months. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > and my husband didn't feel comfortable advertising our home address as > the contact location. Thus the box. Ah, I see, thank you for the explanation although I do realise it was none of my business ;-) It just seemed strange. Whilst some people (and businesses) here in the UK use P.O. boxes it always makes me a bit suspicious if businesses use one, it looks as if they don't want to be traced should things go wrong. I hadn't thought about theft from mailboxes in the USA either. I'm a bit spoilt, my postman puts my letters through my "letter box" which is not a box at all, but a brass clad slit in my front door and they drop safely on to the carpet in my hall. Tweed >>> Why do you need a P.O. Box? Why can't your mail come directly to >>> your house like mine does? [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Ah, I see, thank you for the explanation although I do realise it was none > of my business ;-) I do recognize (now) that it was kind of an odd thing to post about without giving a backstory. > It just seemed strange. Whilst some people (and businesses) here in the UK > use P.O. boxes it always makes me a bit suspicious if businesses use one, it > looks as if they don't want to be traced should things go wrong. Me too. Much like companies that use a geocities etc. web address. I think, if they can't be bothered to get their own domain (very easy and cheap), how likely are they to stay around? But my husband said that he didn't feel comfortable with our home address being published; that unsavory people might use that information to bad ends. ... Although it just occured to me to check, and sure enough, he doesn't have the contact info for his vanity domain obscured. (For example, I own bounceswoosh.org, and my domain registrar allows me to use them as a proxy address for a fee, so that no one can directly contact me using whois records.) Sorry if that was all technobabble. > I hadn't thought about theft from mailboxes in the USA either. > I'm a bit spoilt, my postman puts my letters through my "letter box" which > is not a box at all, but a brass clad slit in my front door and they drop > safely on to the carpet in my hall. I miss having my own mailbox in front of my house. As it turns out, our mailbox is only a few steps away, but some people who get their mail at that box have to take a short walk to get there. But regardless, to me, these communal beasts look very ugly. In contrast, where I grew up, we had a set of five or six mail boxes for each cul de sac, but we each had a separate, traditional-looking mailbox, and they had a wooden framework that looked pretty nice. The ones we have where I live now are so ... institutional looking! Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > It just seemed strange. Whilst some people (and businesses) here in the UK > use P.O. boxes it always makes me a bit suspicious if businesses use one, it > looks as if they don't want to be traced should things go wrong. > I hadn't thought about theft from mailboxes in the USA either. Unfortunately it's all too common. Nancy and I had have had such a problem with mail theft out of our mailbox that we've had to switch our mail delivery to our PO box. Now if the post office would finally stop returning some of our mail to the sender for no apparent reason we'd be all set. >> It just seemed strange. Whilst some people (and businesses) here in the >> UK [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Now if the post office would finally stop returning some of our mail to > the sender for no apparent reason we'd be all set. When I had my office, I had to have a PO box. At least then I had a prayer of a chance of getting all my own mail and only my own mail. It was unbelievable some of the mail that was delivered to my office address. God only knows where mail addressed to me at the office address would have ended up. Since I'm a CPA lots of what I get is confidential. Once I received five different peoples welfare checks at the office on Christmas eve. At least that made a nice lesson for my kids as we went around to see they were properly delivered. Usually though I just called the postmaster and chewed him out (again) and had someone come pick up the misdeliveries. If I went on vacation I'd come back to find the box stuffed full of other peoples mail. Worst post office incident? When my younger daughter turned sixteen or thereabouts, she started getting some really nasty x rated mail at our home. So much so that she asked me if I could get it stopped. Seems the DMV sells off a mailing list of everyone that gets a new drivers license. So off to the postoffice to fill out the forms. Gather up offending mail to show them what we were objecting to. Fill out more forms. Take in additional objectionable mail that should be prosecuted now that the forms have been filed for months and the offenders notified. Only to get a package in a plain brown wrapper from the post office a few weeks later addressed to my daughter. Containing all the garbage we had turned in to try to stop delivery. Did I mention out local postmaster now recognized my voice on the phone? Jo > Worst post office incident? When my younger daughter turned sixteen or > thereabouts, she started getting some really nasty x rated mail at our home. > So much so that she asked me if I could get it stopped. Seems the DMV sells > off a mailing list of everyone that gets a new drivers license. That's horrible! That company should be liable for sending that kind of material to minors. A driver's license doesn't mean one is old enough to receive pornography in the mail... Joyce >>> It just seemed strange. Whilst some people (and businesses) here in the >>> UK [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] > > Jo If my memory serves me correctly (I am sure it does) in the old days "Civil Service Tests" were required to get a Post Office job. The person delivering the mail wore a uniform identifying him as an employee of the US Postal Service. Now they come in shorts and flipflops, or any other garb depending on the weather. Most of the buildings have been rebuilt and have the latest equipment I guess that is progress.. >>>> It just seemed strange. Whilst some people (and businesses) here >>>> in the UK [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > been rebuilt > and have the latest equipment I guess that is progress.. No joke! One night about 8PM a guy knocked on my front door. He was holding a big ol' box, and was wearing shorts, a t-shirt and sandals. As I peered at him through the glass he said, "I'm your postman." Really? Could have fooled me. I told him to leave the box by the door and I'd retrieve it at my leisure. He really *was* my postman, but how was I to know from the way he was dressed? Jill >> It just seemed strange. Whilst some people (and businesses) here in the >> UK [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Now if the post office would finally stop returning some of our mail to > the sender for no apparent reason we'd be all set. I'm going to ask a really naive question here. Why do you have to have a mailbox? why can't your mail be pushed directly into your house through a hole in the front door, like mine is? Tweed >>> It just seemed strange. Whilst some people (and businesses) here in the >>> UK [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > Tweed Some areas will not allow door entry post, my mail box is at the end of the entrance road the Post office can be real pains some time >>>> It just seemed strange. Whilst some people (and businesses) here in >>>> the UK [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >> > Some areas will not allow door entry post, Why? > my mail box is at the end of the entrance road the Post office can be > real pains some time It must be different here. I have a friend that lives in a stately home. The drive is a mile long. Up comes the post office van to deliver the mail every day right to the door. I stayed there and saw it. Tweed > It must be different here. I have a friend that lives in a stately > home. The drive is a mile long. Up comes the post office van to > deliver the mail every day right to the door. I stayed there and > saw it. The US Postal Service privatized a few years ago. I wonder if that has anything to do with it. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > Some areas will not allow door entry post, my mail box is at the > end of the entrance road the Post office can be real pains some > time It occurs to me that people could put something nasty and/or harmful down a person's mail slot ... Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > > Some areas will not allow door entry post, my mail box is at the > > end of the entrance road the Post office can be real pains some [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > -- > monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully You bet they could. We had a book drop about the size of one book, when I worked at the Library. That happened often. The worst incident was some live birds. Sherry >>It occurs to me that people could put something nasty and/or harmful >>down a person's mail slot ... [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > I worked at the Library. That happened often. The worst incident was > some live birds. I've lived with mail slots all my life, and never has anything untoward been pushed through them. I've never even heard of that happening to anyone else. The only offensive thing I've had through the mail slot is lots and lots of ads, but you can stop that by simply putting a sticker on your door saying 'No advertisements please.' The post used to be delivered to the door everywhere, but since our post office became privatised, some places have to have mail boxes. Blocks of flats still get the post delivered to each individual flat through the mail slot in the door. SignatureMarina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki. marina (dot) kurten (at) iki (dot) fi Stories and pics at http://koti.welho.com/mkurten/ Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/ and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki > I've lived with mail slots all my life, and never has anything untoward > been pushed through them. I've never even heard of that happening to [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > -- > Marina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki. Now *that* is great. I wish we could request "no advertisements." I can see how the door slot *would* have advantages. No one could tamper with your mail that way. If you were gone several days, you would not have to worry about the box getting full. (and it would--I am drowning in junk mail, credit card offers and catalogues and am going to have to do something about it, I'm just not sure what) Sherry > Now *that* is great. I wish we could request "no advertisements." I > can see how the door slot *would* have advantages. No one could > tamper with your mail that way. If you were gone several days, you > would not have to worry about the box getting full. (and it would--I > am drowning in junk mail, credit card offers and catalogues and am > going to have to do something about it, I'm just not sure what) I know what you mean. Most of my mail goes straight to trash or recycling, which really bugs me because it's such a waste of resources. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > > Now *that* is great. I wish we could request "no advertisements." I > > can see how the door slot *would* have advantages. No one could [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > -- > monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully I asked the postmaster about this once. There is a form you can fill out which will refuse all bulk mail / second class mailings. But I do get a few things 2nd class that I want--mailings from the HSUS, newsletters and such. He wasn't sure if I would still get them. Actually he wasn't very helpful at all and acted quite "put out" that I asked. I thought about creating a form letter and methodically mailing them to each return address I don't want as they arrive. Might be a waste of time. I called my credit card co. and asked them to quit sending me those blank checks. A friend of mine had hers intercepted and someone wrote out $7,000 worth of them to an escort service! But I still get them anyway. I don't really know what else to do. Sherry > I asked the postmaster about this once. There is a form you can fill > out which will refuse all bulk mail / second class mailings. But I [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > to an escort service! But I still get them anyway. I don't really > know what else to do. Call again. I was able to eventually get my credit card companies to believe that I didn't want checks. It was a struggle, though. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > Call again. I was able to eventually get my credit card companies to > believe that I didn't want checks. It was a struggle, though. > monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully Make sure your credit card "customer service" understands exactly what you want them to do: it is "take your name OFF their "mailing list" for "balance-transfer" or "cash-advance" checks". I have received these checks, with different names for them by their senders, from each of my credit-card companies. All it's ever taken is ONE phone call from me to stop them coming. They have each warned me, upon agreeing to do so, that the mechanism (mailing list of theirs) which sends them to you cannot be stopped for about six weeks or so. I lie and always resort to this falsehood, which once was true but not now: "Where I live the mailbox is not secure, mail is often delivered to other addresses than the correct one, and many college students live in my building. You can see why it is important to me to stop these mailings". Of course if you live in a house, skip the last part about "college students, my building". Oh, BTW, Brit friends: pranksters across the pond must be MUCH better behaved where you are on Halloween than they are here! You don't even wanna know what was put through our door slots (even if we gave treats) when we had them...... > Oh, BTW, Brit friends: pranksters across the pond must be MUCH > better behaved where you are on Halloween than they are here! You > don't even wanna know what was put through our door slots (even > if we gave treats) when we had them...... Heh. The birds-in-the-bookdrop incident I wrote about happened on Halloween. The next year we closed the book drop on Halloween! Most of the time it was just things like paper cups, trash and stuff. The location of the library was part of the problem-the book drop was in a dark alley just behind the community center, where teens not yet old enough to drive gathered regularly. Sherry >> I've lived with mail slots all my life, and never has anything untoward >> been pushed through them. I've never even heard of that happening to [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > Sherry Nothing nasty has ever been pushed through my letter box either wherever I have lived (several different houses) nor has anyone I know experienced it. I don't get any junk mail either. Here in the UK there is something called "the mailing preference list." You register your address with it and hey presto - no more junk mail. The same applies to the phone - there's a "telephone preference list" too. It's actually illegal for a company here to mail you uninvited with adverts etc and the same with phone calls if you are on these lists. I do *very* occasionally get an unsolicited phone call to see if I would like to buy double glazing, or a new kitchen, that type of thing. As soon as they start with "we are in your area and we wondered.." I just say "may I stop you there? I am on the telephone preference list." They cannot apologise enough. Pity you don't have something like that where you are. Maybe there is one and you don't know about it? If not, someone should start one. (says she, having no idea how it works, but it does..) Tweed snipped Here in the UK there is something called > "the mailing preference list." You register your address with it and hey > presto - no more junk mail. As I posted, there is a method for stopping junk mail--it involves filling out a request form at the P.O. However, it also affects any second-class mailing. Some them I *do* want to receive. Newsletters mailings from animal welfare organizations and such are mailed second-class or bulk mail also. The same applies to the phone - there's a > "telephone preference list" too. We have a "do not call" list also. It has been very effective for me. > It's actually illegal for a company here to mail you uninvited with adverts > etc and the same with phone calls if you are on these lists. Same here, with the "do not call" list. > I do *very* occasionally get an unsolicited phone call to see if I would > like to buy double glazing, or a new kitchen, that type of thing. > As soon as they start with "we are in your area and we wondered.." I just > say "may I stop you there? I am on the telephone preference list." Phone solicitors are forbidden to call, unless you have previously done business with them. Followup calls from those companies are allowed. Sherry . The worst incident was > some live birds. Where we used to live (20+ years ago now) we had some nasty kids on the estate who took a dislike to the disabled people who had the 6 flats at the front. We were in flat 1. They threw lighted fireworks through on one occasion narrowly missing Speedy Joe who was in the hallway at the time, after that I got a wire cage to catch anything.,....and that included the head of an airgunned pigeon with the rest of the body stuffed into the letterbox... When our landlord in a fit of pique offered to transfer us to a small "hard to let" property they had (making it clear that they thought this was a real dump but if we didn't take it they wouldn't move us) and weren't too pleased when we came back from the viewing saying "PLEASE!!!" We've been there 20+ years now Lesley Slave of the Fabulous Furballs >>>> It just seemed strange. Whilst some people (and businesses) here in >>>> the UK [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > Some areas will not allow door entry post, my mail box is at the end of > the entrance road the Post office can be real pains some time Here in Australia, people's houses are set quite a way back from the road, and are often gated. The postie gets around on a small powered motorbike, and the letterboxes are set about 2 metres(yards) in from the kerb, just at the divide between the council 'nature strip' and private property. The postie then only has to drive a straight line down the street, rather than having to go into private and gated property - with the front doors often literally *miles* from the actual street front. I don't think *anyone* gets their mail delivered through their front door here. Yowie > I'm going to ask a really naive question here. Why do you have to have a > mailbox? why can't your mail be pushed directly into your house through a > hole in the front door, like mine is? In some areas of the US, the delivery person drives, simply reaching out to put in (or pick up) mail from each box, thus covering far more territory than he could on foot. I thought that was such an unusual method when I first encountered it, since I was accustomed to (1) rural areas with post office boxes in the post offices (2) urban areas with door-to-door with or without holes in doors (mostly without, it gets *cold* in Canada in the winter and most people don't want extra holes in their houses) (3) supermailboxes and their predecessors, mostly in suburban or newer areas, and which were described earlier in the thread as these groups of boxes for a group of houses and (4) apartment building mailrooms, which I guess are the same everywhere. But this driving around, flicking the flag up or down and even the picking up of mail to be sent was all very new to me. SignatureCheryl > I'm going to ask a really naive question here. Why do you have to > have a mailbox? why can't your mail be pushed directly into your > house through a hole in the front door, like mine is? Good question. Probably a matter of how long a given route is supposed to take. In my neighborhood, as I've mentioned, there's already a central mail area for every 20 or so houses. I doubt I could convince the delivery guy to make a special case for me when there's already a mailbox specifically intended for my house. And, honestly, if everyone wanted to get their mail delivered to their house, the route would take much, much longer, so they'd have to pay for more postal workers, and eventually I'm sure we'd see even more postal rate hikes. I'm okay with the situation as is, aesthetics notwithstanding. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca >>>> A while ago, just a few weeks to my memory, I got a PO Box. Paid >>>> for 6 months. [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Tweed We had mail slots for many years. However, the Post Office rebelled -- said it was too much extra work to open the screen door, lift up the slot cover and stuff the mail through. So, we had to get outside mail boxes. MLB >>>> A while ago, just a few weeks to my memory, I got a PO Box. Paid >>>> for 6 months. [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > is not a box at all, but a brass clad slit in my front door and they drop > safely on to the carpet in my hall. Where I used to live a long time ago, the letterbox we had was out the front of the apartment block, on a very busy road (between two pubs that closed late). Because they were old apratments, the letterboxes couldn't be locked. Unless we got the mail in pretty much as soon as it was delivered, some 'funny' person would take our mail - sometimes they'd just put it into a different apartment's box (not too bad, we could figure it out quite quickly and return it to its proper owner) but often they'd abscond with it. Twice our phone was cut off for non-payment of the bill, without us ever receiving any sort of notification (and often we'd only get the 'overdue' notice). Eventually, it became obvious the only solution was a Post Office box. Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do about the water mains tap that was next to the letterboxes. Every Sunday morning, you could bet your bottom dollar that some 'funny' person, no doubt drunk and on their way to or from one of hte pubs, had turned the apartment block's water off. It didn't bother us too much, because we were late risers, but it meant some poor git had to go for quite a long walk down the driveway to turn it back on befor ethey could have their morning tea or coffee. Yowie >A while ago, just a few weeks to my memory, I got a PO Box. Paid for >6 months. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >I felt a little bit better when the guy behind the counter told me >this was a pretty common problem. I always worry about that with mine, too, since I do the six months rather than a year. Somehow (so far) I've always remembered, even if just barely! Glad you were able to keep it going. Ginger-lyn who rarely gets much in hers either, except lovely holiday cards for you folks :-) Home Pages: http://www.moonsummer.com http://www.angelfire.com/folk/glsummer (homepage & cats) http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~summer/index.htm (genealogy) http://www.movieanimals.bravehost.com/ (The Violence Against Animals in Movies Website) > I always worry about that with mine, too, since I do the six months > rather than a year. Somehow (so far) I've always remembered, even > if just barely! Glad you were able to keep it going. I don't think it would help to make it one year ... but I put a reminder in my calendar. That has some chance of helping! > Ginger-lyn who rarely gets much in hers either, except lovely > holiday cards for you folks :-) Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > > I always worry about that with mine, too, since I do the six months > > rather than a year. Somehow (so far) I've always remembered, even > > if just barely! Glad you were able to keep it going. Where my parents live, in some cases the house is a 10-15 mile walk back a dirt track...the postman won't go on a "road" like that, which is the owner's responsibility to maintain...so there are post boxes at the road that must be labelled with your family name so the postman can drop your mail into the box from out the window of his truck. The truck's got little flashy lights on top to let people know it'll be on the side of the road a lot. Where we are now, in an apartment, our mail is in locked boxes...but Dylan's newspaper gets dropped off in the lobby, and if he's not down to get it by 7:30 am, someone else always steals it! Good thing he likes early mornings. I think a PO box is a very good idea if you are going to be publishing an address that you don't want people to be able to trace to your private dwelling. There is no reason that potential customers need to know where their vendor lives. It's not uncommon in the Pagan community for people doing networking to use PO boxes if they live in areas where they have to worry about fundamentalists targetting them for proseletyzation campaigns, or being run out of town for their religious beliefs. --Fil
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