Postcard on wheels

Old postal delivery vehicle, on display at the James A. Fareley post office in NYC.

Postcard received in the mail.

Postoffice

I'm a volunteer with a local theater group, doing various behind-the-scene jobs. It gets a bit stressful at times - there is a lot of drama in drama, I've discovered.

Rehearsals are held near the big post office. Recently I've started walking though the lobby of the post office, on the way to and from the studio.

I don't wait in a long line for a window or machine, I don't search for proper forms to fill out, I don't deal with any postal clerks. I just walk through the lobby that spans an entire block and that's it.

Post Office

I visited the postal store in the big, big post office on 34th Street today, and I admit it wasn't that bad.

"I'd like to see your first-class stamps please. Whatever you have, I'd like to see," I said to the clerk after she finished her conversation with another clerk.

"We don't have all of them," she told me.

"Okay. Show me what you have."

"Which ones?"

"Whatever you have. Show me whatever you have."

"We don't have the Chinese New Year stamps."

"Okay, show me what you do have."

"We only have the stamps with the check mark."

"Check mark?"

"The poster. There are check marks on the poster. That's all we got."

"Poster? What poster?" I asked and looked around.

The clerk sighed, rolled her eyes, and pointed to the poster taped to the wall on the other side of the room.

"Great. Show me the check-marked stamps."

"Which ones? There are four check marks."

"Then show me those four."

"You want to see whatever we have?"

"Yes," I said, "I want to see whatever you have."

"All four?"

"Yes, all four."

She made a big effort out of pulling out four sheets of stamps from the cart next to her and put them on the counter in a display of fatigue.

I bought all of them and left. On my way out, I bought some forever stamps at the self-service machine.

I got a bunch of stamps today, and I am in the mood to mail a letter.

Post Office

Since I was in the neighborhood and had a letter to mail, I took my envelope to the big post office by Penn Station.

It's a bit of a disappointment inside. The lobby isn't the majestic place you'd expect from the outside, at least not anymore.

There is a shop to buy stamps, but again, a disappointment. I expected to see the stamps on display, but you have to ask the clerk to see them. I didn't have time for that, but I will be back to make some purchases the next time I walk by the place.

While looking at some old mailboxes in the lobby, the guard said, "Hey, lady!" I wondered if I wandered into a restricted area. Turns out he noticed my interest in the artifacts and he wanted to give me a hand-out about the building. Nice guy.

The handout could be snazzed up a bit, in my opinion, but typewriter copy on green cardstock does have some charm, I suppose.

I mailed my letter and went on my way, on this chilly, wet day in March.

Stamps

The postal service website is crazy. Sometimes I order stamps online rather than going to my local post office, The Worst Post Office Ever. (That's not the official name of the post office, just the neighborhood nickname). The website requires an account name and password. To buy stamps? I can never remember my account name and go through the process of registering every time I want to buy postage online. It's goofy.

But a couple of sheets of colorful Kelp Forest stamps arrived in my mailbox today so I'm happy. I'm expecting the new Abstract Expressionists stamps to arrive soon, and I bet those stamps will really put me in the mood to mail something.