Collaborative Project- and I want your help!
I have a tumultuous relationship with my mailman, whom I have nicknamed ‘Newman’, after the notorious mailman from Seinfeld. I hate Newman five days a week, and I passionately love him one day a week. Those five loathsome days I receive flyers, catalogues, my neighbors mail, and mail that is unapologetically four days late. Not to mention the days he skips my mailbox all together just for kicks. But that sixth day is my mailman’s saving grace: I finally receive that precious letter for which I have anxiously awaited. That letter for which everyday I walk to my mailbox with my fingers crossed. And when I receive it, I am so happy to hold it in my hands I could kiss Newman and forgive him everything.
Why is my mailman so bad at his job? I wondered. In October of 2010 I did some investigative research, which I posted to my blog. Today I am continuing my research and sharing it with you again. I checked out the quarterly statistics reports on the United States Postal Service website and have come to my unprofessional conclusion: my mailman is careless because he knows his job is on the outs. The number of sent letters, cards, flats, and parcels drops by roughly 1,000 pieces a year.
Just check out the pattern from the first quarter of these years:
First class mail
- 2007: 25,347,522 pieces sent.
- 2008: 24,352,872 pieces sent.
- 2009: 22,731,344 pieces sent.
- 2010: 21,186,752 pieces sent.
- And now here in 2011: 19,989,041 pieces sent.
Standard mail
- 2007: 28,410,608 pieces sent.
- 2008: 27,634,215 pieces sent.
- 2009: 24,599,242 pieces sent.
- 2010: 21,867,461 pieces sent.
- And 2011: 23,756,705 pieces sent.
From time to time I post pictures of envelopes I’ve painted and sent off to some corner of the country. I am a lover of letters and if you like my blog, there’s a good chance you do, too. So here’s what I propose: let’s do our part to save a dying form of communication. If that’s too big of a task, then let us at least enjoy postal mail while we still have it, because it won’t be around forever. Send your mailing address to mypostalproject@gmail.com and I will send you one of my painted envelopes. I can’t guarantee it will come soon- the combination of my mailman’s work ethic and the potential popularity of this project could make for a long wait. But I promise sooner or later I will send you an envelope and after it has been sent I will delete your address completely and permanently. You can even use a false name and P.O. Box if that makes you feel more secure. (People outside of the USA are welcome to participate, too!)
You may have noticed I don’t have an “ask” option. If you have a question about anything, include it with your address and your answer will be in your envelope.
Cheers!
-M. H. Dunaway
