We live in a semi-rural area on the outskirts of our small seaside city. We're not exactly *"out in the sticks"* and where we live there's actually a fairly organized *neighborhood* with some 600 homes or so. Even though this is regarded as the *"new"* part of town, the neighborhood actually began more than 60 years ago when people built summer cabins here because there was great salmon fishing on the bay below, along with outstanding views.

![0077-View.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/2458DaZNHpczaxEFNvQd44QzaN2Z7VfY2RwE3vQ8m2MQnVVUcAnyrHdBJ1uefWY9EBJBU.jpg)
*View from our neighborhood...*

So, because we're *not* inside city limits, the US Postal Service uses *"Rural Contract Carriers"* to deliver our mail... a system that typically works just fine. Our primary post office is located about 5.5 miles (8km) from where we live.

However, as a general convenience to *both* the USPS *and* the residents, our mail is delivered to a *huge* bank of clusterboxes with its own parking lot, near the primary entrance to our neighborhood. There are also a couple of *"parcel lockers"* in the mail area, for those who receive packages too big to fit in individual mailboxes.

Historically, if there are more parcels than mailbox and locker space to deliver all the parcels, the carriers make an extra loop around the neighborhood to leave the packages on people's doorsteps.

So far, so good. This has never been an issue in the 10-odd years we have lived here. 


![0275-Mailboxes.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/23zkkGax7YfSgDf79RiKW56LT4TE5TCY9FzGS8TndfCDSpd2Te8XeExwzucZEai7Rm2sC.jpg)
*Section of the OLD delapidated mail shelter and parking area*

## *"New and Improved"... NOT!*

So, a couple of months back, the neighborhood association decided that since the current setup of mailboxes and shelters were getting on for 25 years old and the wooden structure was starting to rot and decay, it was time to build a new one.

The benefit of doing so was also to be able to *reorganize* the individual mailboxes — which had become a bit chaotic due to the 60-odd *new* addresses that had been added since 1994, and which basically weren't in geographical order. 

The mail carriers, the neighborhood association *and* the residents all thought this was a pretty good idea that would make things easier for everyone involved.

And so — with only minor disruptions — a nice new shelter *(this time with a metal roof instead of a wood shingle roof)* was built and the mailboxes were reorganized according to the system that made the most sense in terms of saving the mail carriers time and hassle. 

All should be well, right?


![0050-Lathyrus.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/23uFVdxb3JoBocNofUaPurqJL4jnWPLoBfZcvA4q4EDxfcWoWCGW1YdP3sKYykf9K1WPr.jpg)


## *"Your Package Can Be Picked Up Tomorrow!"*

Now... let's just *start* with the facts that this was done *in large part* for the benefit of the mail carriers ***AND*** we also happen to have been in a situation where people have been ordering more things *(AKA: "packages")* because they haven't been able to go out, and there has been a *"risk"* associated with leaving the house.

Keeping this in mind...

... our local Postmaster suddenly decided that the mail carriers servicing our neighborhood needed to *"follow the rules."*

What does *that* mean?

Let's go bit above where I said

>*"if there are more parcels than mailbox and locker space to deliver all the parcels, the carriers make an extra loop around the neighborhood to leave the packages on people's doorsteps."*


![0179-Sunset.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/23ydANCbqj7KN5J9FtawZPRgezWHku27i71apw3mUsqsjzooGnNkWmQeJSzPiWkj4DmsV.jpg)


Weeeellll... there's actually a USPS rule that states that mail carriers may only go 1/2 mile or less from the *"point of delivery"* (in our case, the clusterboxes) to deliver an item *(AKA: "parcel")* that won't fit in the mailbox. What's *more,* there's also a rule that says carriers can only leave packages in a location they deem *"safe,"* and it's very easy to declare that *NO* place is actually *"safe"* because of the issue with so-called *"porch pirates."*

Even though we haven't actually *had* an issue with porch pirates because there's only *one* road in and out of the neighborhood and porch pirates don't like to work areas that have a single and easily blocked escape route.

But evidently that's considered irrelevant...

![post-office.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/23sJompbj3ycJgcxZkjyUHosmijPmgaJ8XCVu7Unpj6Vgtns8vTrhrLHMX2vVMx8FLZ8g.jpg)
*That's the central post office....*

## *So Therefore, Comma...*

We now get a steady stream of *"USPS pink slips"* in our mailbox, letting us know that pretty *any* parcel larger than a very *small* shoebox can be picked up *the following day* at the Post Office.

Which effectively means that *NOT ONLY* are most of our mail parcels *delayed* by a day or two, but we have to make an 11-mile (18km) round trip to the downtown post office to pick up our packages, often *three times a week!!* 

This, at a time when *"freedom of travel"* is still *somewhat* discouraged, and social distancing is still in effect.

![0188-BuddhaBird.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/EpGQj1NmLnGqq4euyLuTQLXhBbBbcGCXNAGBWs4vFrSACXfXbxEYkJxcg4Cbom8iC9q.jpg)
*"You must have patience," said the Buddha to the bird....*

Now for the *HEIGHT* of stupidity. I happened to stop by to pick up my mail at a time when one of our regular carriers was there, sorting and boxing mail. There was a *"pink slip"* in our box, so I went up to her van and asked to pick up the package from her.

She looked sad and sheepish and rolled her eyes as she told me that she was *"not allowed"* to give me the package, I'd have to *go to the post office,* even though it was right there in her van!

*"But WHY?"*

Well, evidently once the pink slip is scanned into the system it creates a record... and she was sincerely worried that she would *lose her job* if she tried to delete the record and give me the package. Of course, that's *not HER fault,* so I also rolled my eyes and left it at that...

WTF, over????

Thanks for reading, and have a great remainder of the week!

***How about YOU? Would you find a situation like this as annoying as we do? Or would you consider it a "minor inconvenience?" Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!***

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