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October 2008 
Vest in the Mail
Posted on Dec 20th, 2007
by 
Beagle
Beagle
This morning I looked out the window at the gray light of early morning to see the snowplow coming up the road, an arc of slush in a precise and artful wave beside it. This is a happy sight when one has to leave shortly to drive all about Chittenden County to drop off children and head to a long meeting. It means the roads in at least one town will be safer and easier to navigate.
Unfortunately, it also means potential danger for our mailbox. Our mailbox is plastic which, in itself, does not mean the snowplow poses a hazard. However, the plastic status of our mailbox, combined with a recent shattered hinge piece which, in an attempt at repair led to a second broken hinge piece, was a red flag that the driver, I am sure, did not see.
My fear, as you might imagine, was that the aforementioned wave of slush would find its way to the interior of the mailbox. A mailbox full of slush poses the challenge of slush-soaked mail. That, again, in itself, is not necessarily a bad thing but, since mail is generally made from paper, could mean some important missives might get missed due to ink distortion.
You understand my concern at this point that, since I was too much in a hurry this morning to actually check the status of the mailbox, I would find some soggy post when I looked this afternoon. As I neared the box as the day waned I could see that my concern might be validated. Even from a distance I could tell that the front cover was no longer attached. Inside the box I found no mail, only a parapet of snow and the front door of the box.
The mail, it turns out, was safely inside the front door of the house. The carrier had taken the time to drive down the length of our slippery drive and place it there, not out of worry that our mail might be compromised, I am sure, but because we had a large package that would not fit in our standard sized mailbox.
Inside the package was a vest. It sported the logo of a place I once worked. It was from a friend whose return address I recognized. There was no letter or card. In the pocket, however, was a note. She and her husband were cleaning out their closets and he made it known that he hates vests. How could she have suspected such a thing when she gave it to him? So she stuffed it in a huge envelope and mailed it to me.
And that is how our mail got rescued today. It got a one-day reprieve from destruction by precipitation. Tomorrow, we may not be so lucky. So please, if you are reading this, and you know me, go ahead and send a vest my way. This one was fleece, but wool would be fine. Or a nice thick cotton maybe. Heck, I'll even take some wool socks, as long as they come in a big enough package.
Unfortunately, it also means potential danger for our mailbox. Our mailbox is plastic which, in itself, does not mean the snowplow poses a hazard. However, the plastic status of our mailbox, combined with a recent shattered hinge piece which, in an attempt at repair led to a second broken hinge piece, was a red flag that the driver, I am sure, did not see.
My fear, as you might imagine, was that the aforementioned wave of slush would find its way to the interior of the mailbox. A mailbox full of slush poses the challenge of slush-soaked mail. That, again, in itself, is not necessarily a bad thing but, since mail is generally made from paper, could mean some important missives might get missed due to ink distortion.
You understand my concern at this point that, since I was too much in a hurry this morning to actually check the status of the mailbox, I would find some soggy post when I looked this afternoon. As I neared the box as the day waned I could see that my concern might be validated. Even from a distance I could tell that the front cover was no longer attached. Inside the box I found no mail, only a parapet of snow and the front door of the box.
The mail, it turns out, was safely inside the front door of the house. The carrier had taken the time to drive down the length of our slippery drive and place it there, not out of worry that our mail might be compromised, I am sure, but because we had a large package that would not fit in our standard sized mailbox.
Inside the package was a vest. It sported the logo of a place I once worked. It was from a friend whose return address I recognized. There was no letter or card. In the pocket, however, was a note. She and her husband were cleaning out their closets and he made it known that he hates vests. How could she have suspected such a thing when she gave it to him? So she stuffed it in a huge envelope and mailed it to me.
And that is how our mail got rescued today. It got a one-day reprieve from destruction by precipitation. Tomorrow, we may not be so lucky. So please, if you are reading this, and you know me, go ahead and send a vest my way. This one was fleece, but wool would be fine. Or a nice thick cotton maybe. Heck, I'll even take some wool socks, as long as they come in a big enough package.
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