Even less likely is the possibility of damage to the letter or package, as I've only seen this happen once in my lifetime -- that is, until now.
The scrap of what once was an envelope with a card was sent in the USPS envelope it sits on in this photo:
Followed by the bolded "WE CARE" is an apology message from the USPS Plant Manager, with statements such as, "We are aware how important your mail is to you. With that in mind, we are forwarding [this useless piece of envelope remains] to you in an expeditious fashion."
Before this arrived, my mom called and said the rest of the letter, including the ripped card, was returned to her. Why, after sending my mom the actual card back, did the Plant Manager think it was necessary to send me this scrap internationally, I have no idea, especially when the USPS is in such financial trouble. I may have pinpointed one of the problems.
My mom predicts that someone (a postal worker, a greedy passerby, who knows) ripped open the card, thinking there was a gift card inside (there wasn't), but this mystery has yet (and probably never will be) solved.
I'm not completely blasting USPS, as 99.9 percent of my mail has arrived properly, and I understand, as the above envelope says, the "202 billion pieces of mail" sent each year by them may cause an "occasional mishap." OK, this is a little more than a mishap, but we'll let the company PR language slide this time.
Unless I'm added to the USPS black list, I look forward to receiving fully intact mail in the future.
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OMG! This is to funny. Not that this happened, but your writing. I love that they sent the "useless piece of envelope remains"
ReplyDeleteThey use an machine to sort the mail, so if it is jammed it tends to tear things. I know this because Jared's girlfriend tried to send a Lego advent calendar a piece at a time in letter envelops. It jammed the machine and totally destroyed the letters and the Legos. Maybe there was something too thick just before your letter, which was caught in the cross fire. I personally think it's cool that they at least tried to get it to you and acknowledged that there was a problem. If not, and if the rest of the letter didn't get back to your mom, then you wouldn't have known there was even a letter.
ReplyDeleteIn a related store, the Dept. of Homeland Security opened and looked through a package Jessica sent me from Peru. It just had a little shirt for Jon, apparently baby clothes from South America are highly suspicious. :)
~Rosalie
Holly, I'm glad you enjoyed it! It was actually quite funny that this happened.
ReplyDeleteRosalie, You're probably right that it was the machine, although I like my mom's explanation better. And yes, mail from Peace Corps volunteers is incredibly questionable! Ha.