Through My Literary Lens

US MAIL SERVICE

The first post office was established by William Penn in Pennsylvania in 1683. Prior to the establishment of reliable postal routes, letters and messages were carried by friends, relatives and slaves.

In 1737 Benjamin Franklin was appointed Postmaster of Philadelphia and he subsequently held several other postal appointments. Franklin improved the mail services, its routes, individual post offices in the colonies and faster, more reliable service.

Paul B. Downing, an African American Inventor, designed a four legged metal box with a slit on top for letters. He called his design a Street Letter Box and it was patented in 1891. This was the predecessor for what we now call a Mailbox.

Three great men, along with others through time, whose ingenuity, imagination and purpose improved the mail system for their communities, cities, states and eventually the entire country.

In one year, the man appointed by our ex-President, managed to cripple a system that has served our country well for over three hundred years. I am hard pressed to see the political advantage of hobbling the USPS.

At this point, I am not sure if the problem is nationwide or just Philadelphia but I am not receiving mail as I had just a year ago. I don’t believe this has anything to do with Covid-19. Time sensitive bills and notices, even mail ordered medicine are not being delivered as it should. If the person in charge of the USPS were on the Celebrity Apprentice, he would have already been fired.