Three People

Many years ago, a coworker said to me, "If three people say you're a horse...saddle up". I thought the expression was funny, but 30 years later, it still holds true. If you think of the real meaning, it pertains to almost everyone. It is telling us to look at things closely and not to be stubborn. Sometimes we do not see the things that outsiders do. It can be tough to look a some situations and see what they really are. If people around you all disagree with what you are saying or doing, maybe there is something wrong. Opening our eyes to the truth may not be easy, but in the long run it is beneficial.

Postman Part Deux

After making a small scene at the post office the other day, it seems that the postal supervisor (who I thought was the postmaster) got scared. He did some research and realized that he made a huge mistake. It seems that an elderly man walked into the post office with a letter that had been delivered to him by error. He said that no one by that name (my name) lived at his address. The supervisor, henceforth to be known as the "stupid-visor", decided to put a stop on all of my mail and mark it return to sender. This all happened 19 days ago. When the stupid-visor found his error, he "tried to call me" but couldn't find where I lived. Yes... the postal stupid-visor DIDN'T KNOW WHERE I LIVED. Maybe if he looked at my address, he would have figured it out. So, he put the problem aside and continued on his merry way. Today, when the regular mailman came to "not deliver" my mail, he informed me that there was a stop mail order on my address. By this time I had already spoken to the Federal Postal Inspector and he had called my local post office to reprimand them and to ask what was going on there .So, here I was again, at the post office, but now I was demanding a letter of apology, a letter to all of my creditors stating that the post office made an error and rerouted my mail and a request to see the Postmaster. After being told that the Postmaster was not available, I asked for her direct telephone number, as I was going to speak to her by the end of today. The stupid-visor finally said to wait a minute and he directed me to the Postmaster's office. As I entered the office, there was a nice woman who looked like she was embarrassed about her worker's incompetence. She apologized profusely, wrote a letter of apology, undid the stop mail order and gave me her business card if any other problems occurred. Now all I have to do is wait 3 weeks for my returned mail to get to me again, that is, after I call every company to alert them that I still live at my address. 

The Hill

In my mind I am comparing this summer to a hill. Today I am standing at the top, ready to coast down. The trip up the hill was a bit hard. I trudged and slowly made it up. At some points I just had to stop and take a deep breath, because if I didn't I would not have been able to push on. The top of the hill looked so far away that I never thought I would reach the peak, but I did. I got to the top and saw that there is beauty in everything if you just continue along the trip. I am now starting the trip down and hope to find easier terrain when I reach flat ground. At the bottom of my hill will be the beginning of a journey that I know I am now ready for.

28,900

I never look at statistics but for some reason I just did. So far this blog has had 28,900 reads. I only know of about 6 people that read it, so the rest are strangers. They live all over the United States and in many foreign countries. Sometimes I have to look on the world map to see where the towns are from. I have learned more about geography in the past two years than I have in the previous 55. I am still amazed that people find my writing interesting enough to return to read it more than once. This blog is only a compilation of my daily life and thoughts. Some days I have more to say and others I have to think hard. Today's blog was going to be about my future niece's bridal shower, but somehow the even number of 28,900 caught my eye. It is a beautiful day outside, sixty degrees and sunny. The type of day you can only hope for when you plan a party. I am heading to the shore to a pub type restaurant for this celebration. I am looking forward to it as this has been a rough few weeks. Having a happy occasion is just what the doctor ordered.

The Mailman Never Rang

If I did not live this story, I would never believe it. I have been expecting a few pieces of mail that never arrived and last week I did not receive mail for two days. I went to the post office and asked to speak to the postmaster. The counter person rang a bell and a few minutes later he appeared at the window. I explained to him that I did not get my mail and that it was now 2 weeks overdue. He asked if it was "tracked" and I said that these were regular letters and those are never tracked. He said everyone should put tracking on all of their letters. I said that would be ridiculous as the price of a 46 cent letter would be about two dollars. He said if there is not tracking he would have no idea where my mail is. I said that one of the letters in question was brought into his post office and handed in to the counter person. The letter was remaining within the same town. He said that when it was brought into him, he sent it to a main hub and they send it back to him, to deliver to me. I said I never got it, so where is it? He said he had no idea. I asked if there are bins of undeliverable mail and he said, "No". At this point it was turning into a "Seinfeld" episode. I said, "You know how to take the mail, but you do not know how to deliver the mail". I turned to the 20 people on line waiting to mail their letters and said, "Are you all listening to this. The postmaster is saying that the mail you hand in now, might never get to its destination and if it doesn't, he will have no idea where it went". They all agreed that it was absurd that this is how the post office runs. I then took a blank envelope and "role played". I said, "Here is my letter. I am giving it to you. You are giving it to the main hub. If I never get it....where is it now? He repeated that it would be delivered. I said," I NEVER GOT IT. WHERE IS IT?" He said he had no idea. At that point, I asked for a postal inspectors name and number at the main hub. I want to see how high a person can get in the US Postal system, without having a brain.

Beautiful Day

I woke up this morning to a beautiful day. The sun is shining brightly and the temperature is warm but not hot. At this moment in time, all is right in my world. The people I love are all doing well and whatever problems I have are all in check. A life without problems is not really a life. The reality of living and loving, means that each day brings with it, a new adventure. Just like in the movies, it can be a comedy, a tragedy or a horror story. Sometime we have no choice but to be part of the show. The best we can do is hope for a happy ending.

All Bottled Up

When my children were babies there was only one kind of baby bottle. It came in 2 sizes, 4oz and 8oz. We put the formula in screwed on the nipple, turned it over and voila....food. Today there are too many choices. Each one has its own theory behind it. In the 1980's the theory was, "Here is your formula, drink it". Now the theories are for colic, for better feeding angles, for less stress and so on and so on. In the three months that my grandson has been eating, he has used three types of bottles. Each bottle has a few components to it and one has so many, it is like building an erector set. Last week I fed him with the "erector set" bottle. He sucked and sucked and sucked and only 1/2 ounce was gone. He usually eats his food in 5 minutes. After sucking for a few minutes, his eyes closed as if to say, "Enough already". After switching his position and turning the bottle in his mouth, he finally ate 2 of the 3 ounces. I decided it was enough as I was getting colicky. The same thing happened yesterday, but I responded differently. I got the old bottle out and poured the remaining formula into it and he ate in 2 minutes. Make it simple and the baby will respond better.