Andy Rooney was singing my song on 60 Minutes last night! He was talking about the troubles the U.S. Postal Service is experiencing. I guess I wasn’t truly aware that taxes don’t contribute to the support of the postal service. It may be a government agency but it is run like a business so has to support itself.
Andy pointed out that in 1900 there were 77,000 post offices around the country while today, with 4 times the number of people, there are only 37,000. I’m not surprised that fewer of us are actually writing letters, with the ease of email taking over, but I have to agree with Andy here when he says, “An e-mail has all the charm of a freight train.”
I have to wonder how much social interaction and just plain good old-fashioned etiquette is suffering when we forget just how special handwritten letters or greeting cards mean to each of us when they show up unexpectedly, delivered by a mailman (or for crying out loud, mailwoman!). Isn’t this a tradition we should fight to continue? Do you enjoy receiving more than just bills and marketing materials in your mailbox?