United States Postal Service – Missing Mail (Lithonia Post Office)

https://www.bossiernow.com/missing-mail-in-south-bossier-postal-carrier-resigns/

It doesn’t happen often but when it does, it is the most frustrating feeling ever – mail gone missing. Sure there are a number of reasons why something you mail may never reach its intended recipient, i.e. wrong address, lost in route, stolen, slipped off clerk’s work space onto floor, misdirected/sent to wrong address, etc. No matter the reason, the feeling is still the same – disappointment, plain and simple. It happened to me several times, actually more times than I care to remember but the ones that stuck out for me are the ones that contained money and/or written words that were never received.

https://www.usps.com/help/missing-mail.htm

Three years ago I mailed a birthday card to an ex. Took some doing but I finally came up with the right words to convey my feelings but sadly they would never get read. At first I thought they were just being silly and denying they received the card but as weeks turned into months they too shared their disappointment after not receiving the card. They shared with me that while they were disappointed as I was about the missing card, they were not surprised because they had witnessed firsthand, discarded mail being trampled on post office floor behind the counter. Unfortunately for me, it was not enough to force me to take protective measures. I mean who wants to pay to certify a simple card that may or may not contain $20 or less? Still having faith that my cards would reach their intended recipients, and the ones that went missing would eventually show up, I continued my habit of sending cards with and without cash through the mail. After all it was only small amounts – a $20 here and a $10 there.

http://queenoftheclick.com/missing-mail-in-bay-ridge/

It would be another year or so before anything went missing again. One April I mailed a birthday card to my nephew in Florida for his 16^th birthday. Thinking I was being prudent, I waited in line and handed the card directly to the postal clerk. I’m not sure what happened between the time I handed it to the clerk and it going missing, but my nephew never received it. Luckily I had the presence of mind to purchase a money order instead of sending cash. After about two weeks of no delivery, I confirmed the address with my nephew then contacted the post office to run a trace on the money order. To my dismay, they charged me a fee to check on the status of the money order. After a month or so I received correspondence that the money order was uncashed and a refund check, less the money order fee, was attached. They further advised that should the money order surface and is cashed, I would be required to return the refunded amount.  It’s safe to say that up until now, that money order has yet to surface. Despite the setback of the missing card, I continue to send cards in the mail because there is just something about knowing someone cared enough to take the time to pick out a card and mail it.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42878222

Anyway, fast forward to April this year were two of my grandchildren celebrated their birthdays – one turned 7 on the 16^th and the other turned 18 on the 25^th. True to form I sent the 7-year old a birthday card with 8 $1 bills which she received – a few days late but it arrived just the same. However the one sent to my grandson a week later, which contained a $20 bill long with words he will never read, mysteriously never made it to him. Both grandchildren reside at the same address in Dallas, GA. Oddly enough the two Mother’s Day cards I mailed last week to that same address were received without incident. How do you explain that? All four cards were mailed from the Lithonia post office. All Four cards were addressed to the same address in Dallas, GA. Yet three of them were delivered and one went MIA. I also just realized that ALL the missing cards were mailed in April – interesting!!

http://postalnews.com/blog/2015/10/26/appeals-board-throws-out-companys-patent-claim-on-usps-returned-mail-process/

I am still hopeful that the card I mailed to my 18-year old grandson will eventually surface as the words it contain were both heartfelt and encouraging especially at a time when he will not be able to participate in his high school graduation because of the state of the union. I have to continue having faith in the system because if I lose faith I will have no effective way to send cards to my friends and loved ones.  To that end, I draw hope from a previous incident of a missing piece of mail which eventually surfaced.  About 10 years ago I mailed my utility payment to Georgia Power as usual. A month later my statement reflected that my payment was not received. After checking my bank ledger to ensure I did write the check I called the power company who informed me that they had just received my payment that day. Not sure where that mail got held up for more than a month but I was glad it eventually made its way to where it needed to be.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42878222

https://www.storyblocks.com/images/stock/illustration-of-a-man-with-letter-and-mailbox-bq97n8wmowj6gt0o6x

It is that incident that gives me hope that the missing birthday card will eventually turn up. Will this change my habit of sending cards and/or cash through the mail? Not bloody likely but I do say a prayer every time I put something in the mail that it WILL reach its intended recipient.  After all, if you can’t trust the US Post Office to do the very thing you pay for them to do – deliver your mail - who can you trust? I’m just saying. I got issues – what about you? )i(

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