The U.S. Postal Service Is Still Against Me

Forget the fact that they changed my ZIP code and made life a little more inconvenient for me, or the time they put a Playboy postcard haphazardly in my mailbox, but now they are rearranging the very fabric of New York to mess with me.

In the photo below, you can see that there is a green mailbox right near my building’s entrance (it’s under the snow, behind the little tree). This was a very convenient placement for me, but now the U.S. Postal Service has taken it away and I can only assume it was out of spite.

image
December 2000
image
May 2008

The block that I live on has a total of seven very similar buildings, with four of them almost identical. The buildings next door to mine, in both directions, are of the identical variety, and that fact can cause issues when I’m coming home late at night, especially after I’ve had a few drinks that contain alcohol. That mailbox was a landmark that made it possible for me to enter the correct building no matter what state my vision was. Finding the right apartment was a problem a few times, but that’s for another time.

About two weeks ago I was walking home after work, completely sober, and noticed that the green mailbox was gone. There was nothing in its place, except for the bolt holes where it used to be. I wondered if it was removed to be painted or maintained in some way, but a few days later, my worst fears were confirmed. It had been moved up the block. Luckily, the USPS did not place it near one of the other identical buildings on my block.

I fully expect them to do that in the future, just to annoy me.

Apr 20, 2008