Dating : The Gardens: Mail Call Mayhem

“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

One of the few things that will bring out the cold-hardheartedness of senior citizens living in a community with centralized mailboxes is mail delivery. It gets to the point that the residents have to be periodically reminded at the monthly resident council meetings to stand back so Ed, the regular mailman, deliver the mail without putting the residents or himself at risk.

For the most part the mail is junk mail that ends up in the nearest trash can so it is a bit perplexing as to why there is so much fervor that surrounds the mail. I can only imagine it is something to look forward to although for the most part it is bills or junk mail. I call it the “mail mystique.”

Ed works as quickly as he can, doing his best to put the mail in the correct box. A lot of residents have moved to a different apartment in the facility and as best as Ed tries to keep is straight, once in awhile a piece of mail of a former resident gets placed in the wrong box and because most folks don’t look at the addressee, it gets opened and, most likely, thrown away.

When I moved in seven months ago, the former occupant, Gigi, moved across the hall. I don’t think she ever filled out one of those forms to forward her mail and every so often get a piece of her mail. Apparently she got mail for two other people as well. I asked her about it since I knew she had lived at The Gardens for some time and she told me she took the mail for those two residents as well. Mystery solved. Luckily Gigi she has a bright red plastic magazine holder on a wooden TV tray outside her door for newspapers and flyers which is a convenient spot to drop the errant mail.

Once the MAIL OUT sign that hangs on a brass chain is flipped to MAIL IN, the frenzy begins. Residents gather in what they think is the most advantageous position to get to their mailbox first. Adding to the madness is that after the resident has retrieved their mail, they stand in front of their mailbox to look at it, creating additional congestion and adding to the almost manic state of the other residents. For people watchers, it is truly a sight to behold, well worth the entertainment value. The wiser residents avoid the situation entirely, and wait until there isn’t so much commotion, usually around dinner time when they are refreshed from their afternoon nap.

As for Ed, our fearless mailman, takes it all in stride. He remains cheerful, keeping his oath to deliver the mail, not only through snow, rain, heat, or gloom of night but also through the treacherous waters of lurking mail predators. He still has all his fingers and toes so he must be doing something right.