Checking the mail - the thrill is gone

Our mailbox sat at the end of our driveway of the farm on which I grew up. Checking the contents was a daily thrill, even when most days had nothing addressed specifically to me. Christmas catalogs, newspapers, even the odd personal letter or card, could all be found now and then in that old steel half tube sitting on a post. When the flag was down, you knew the mailman (and it was always a man), had been by.

Nearly every morning now I get an email from the USPS telling me what mail I can expect to see delivered today. Scanned images of envelopes are included. This information saves me the short walk down the street to where my mailbox, along with a dozen or so of my neighbors’, squats in the shade. 

I get fewer than a dozen pieces of mail each week. And 90% of the ones I do get, go directly into the recycling bin in my garage. Most are requests for money - from charities, from alumni associations, from service organizations. You give once, you get mailers forever. Cable TV companies urge me to switch; appliance dealerships urge me to get a new furnace; hardware stores urge me to take advantage of their current sale. Catalogs, usually full of women’s clothing, round out my big mail days. Ah, if only I were a cross-dresser…

So when Congress looks to reduce the post office budget, I more or less shrug. Mail delivery once a week would be fine with me. Amazon has its own trucks. I get newspapers and magazines online. My bills come via email. Even greeting cards have gone digital. And it works the other way too - I go through less than a book of stamps a year…

Is mine the last generation that companies will market to using paper and the mail? For the sake of trees that give their lives for paper pulp and for the sake of the environment being choked by mail truck exhaust, I sincerely hope so.

Don't complain to me about inflation if ...

Yup, the price of almost everything seems to be going up. Blame Putin, Biden, the Fed, corporate America, supply chains, or Satan himself, but don’t complain to me if…

• You buy name brand products instead of store brand or generic
• You drive like a jack rabbit and get rotten mileage
• You buy junk food
• You shop for recreation and spend too much time on Amazon
• You drink bottled water
• You got in on low mortgage/car interest rate recently
• You eat meat more than a few times a week
• You stay in any better quality of lodging than Motel 6 when traveling
• You have multiple internet streaming services
• Your car gets less than 25 mpg
• You buy books, audiobooks, magazines or movies instead of checking them out from the library
• You put gas in an RV, ATV, or boat
• You drink coffee at Starbucks
• You drink, smoke, or guzzle sodas
• Your closets are overflowing with clothes and shoes, but you keep buying more
• You buy anything when it’s not on sale

I am sure I spend my money in ways which you may find frivolous. To each their own. But those of us with some discretionary income should not complain too loudly when fewer dollars can go for the “fun stuff.” For many, there is no room for “fun stuff” in their budgets at all.

Rather than dwell on inflation, think of the luxuries you may enjoy.

Who's NOT stressed?

Yesterday’s Mankato newspaper had an AP article describing the kinds of stress veterinarians are under. Who’d a thunk?

As in human medicine, veterinarians feel the strain of handling emergencies, caring for the sick — and, often, starting out with six figure student debt.

Veterinary doctors, however, also confront the responsibility of advising pet owners about euthanasia and carrying it out.

There are emotionally painful, ethically trying moments when people can’t let go of a suffering pet — or, conversely, can’t afford treatment that could be life-saving …

We’ve all read stories about the high stress levels among teachers, health care providers, police officers, and other workers due to COVID, civil unrest, and economic woes. And it is easy to empathize. I even feel for restaurant workers trying to keep up when there are staffing shortages.

But what the article about vets made me wonder is just who HASN’T been under stress the last couple of years? Parents trying to help their kids at home learn - yes. Small business owners who wonder if their stores might fold - yes. Non-profit employees seeing a rise in the need for services and decrease in funding - yes. And no matter what kind of job one has, if working from home instead of at an office, that’s got to be somewhat rough as well.

Those of us who are retired often lead a fairly stress-free existence. But I would argue that the current high rate of inflation and current poor performance of the stock market may have even those of us without job problems staring at the ceiling at night. Inflation eats away at Social Security and pensions; the falling DOW and NASDAQ decimate IRAs.

Now more than ever we need to heed the admonition "Be kind, everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." It’s not always easy to deflect anger or rudeness with kindness, but it is worth a shot.