STANDING ON MY SOAPBOX

One last story about 2019. When I wrapped and packaged my daughter’s Christmas gifts… it took me a while because I have neuropathy in my hands. I did it with love, hoping a smile would pass her lips, as she opened each one. She is in failing health and is on portable oxygen. I mailed the packages USPS, priority mail. I tracked them across the country all the way to Colorado. It took three days. Problem is… USPS says they were delivered a week and a half, before Christmas. But she never got them. Inside were restaurant gift cards, cash and an Echo Dot with Alexa. I was so-oo aggravated she did not get her presents. I figured I needed to put a trace on them and file a claim to collect the insurance. She was devastated by the loss. And there wasn’t much I could do here. Being on a limited income I couldn’t send her replacements, ‘til we got our next Social Security check, in January. This just ruined all of our Christmas spirit. But as it turns out, management at her apartment complex thought something fishy was going on... when she told them about it. So they enlisted my daughter’s help and ours... to see if they could find those packages. What happened is this. If my daughter gets a package, the mailman is supposed to leave her a key in her mailbox, to a bigger box in the apartment mailroom. He did not do this, in the case of these missing packages. Instead what he did… was leave her packages in a box, with the key still in it, in the mailroom. Which meant anyone had access to them.  Not to mention the fact, it was way across the room… from the box my daughter was supposed to have her packages left in. The apt. managers took my daughter with them to investigate. They were armed with the pictures of both packages, I had sent. They found them in this box with access to everyone, as I previously stated. The Amazon Prime package had been slit open, but appeared to still have the gift inside.. And the other package was intact. So all is well, that ends well. Or so you would think. The apt. managers warned my daughter… that they thought… perhaps the mailman had an accomplice, and that the two of them were up to no good. And they suggested she inform the local post office about what happened and they would too. So that was it, or so we thought. Christmas would be celebrated from afar with the gifts we had sent.Thank goodness. And my daughter could breathe a sigh of relief, at long last, and enjoy her Christmas, though she was alone. Unfortunately something else happened to put a damper on the holiday. The card we sent her separately, from the packages… was from the kitty cats here. In it… we enclosed an Applebee’s gift card. Would you believe it never arrived... and neither did the second card we sent her, for New Years. So, somewhere between here and Colorado, they were both stolen... most likely by my daughter's mail carrier. When I was a young women… starting out… the mail got delivered through rain, snow, sleet and hail. The mail carriers were dedicated to that motto. You could count on them to get the job done. Nowadays... it's a FREE for all. Who deliberately steals from their customers or neighbors… taking what’s not theirs, and pocketing it for themselves. So sad, this is happening more and more with postal carriers around the holidays. If we can’t trust them to deliver the mail, who can we trust? And as for those other porch pirates, that's another story played out on the news, nightly. I don't need to rehash it here. I sincerely hope the new decade... starting with 2020... brings more civility, kindness and honesty into focus... we deserve a better tomorrow for ourselves and our children. And hopefully it starts today, with each one of us making a sincere effort… to really care about each other, whether we know each other, or not. Because what happens on our watch, affects each and everyone of us... We need to set better examples for the children. No more bullying and name calling. No more stealing. The truth must prevail. And the disinformation thats being shoved down our throats daily, must be thwarted. We have eyes and ears... and know deep in our hearts, the difference between right and wrong. It's time to hold the liars and cheats accountable for their actions. And let the rest of us breathe easier. I am now going to step off my soapbox and move forward.