Monday, December 17, 2007

My Faith Restored

I have gone through a rampage this weekend. I have ranted and railed until I could not find one other nasty, offensive and unladylike thing to say about the USPS and their minions. Actually, not their minions, but their superiors. To whomever makes decisions for the USPS.

Once upon a time, you could ship things overseas using Standard Shipping. It took a few weeks to get there, but if you wanted to send gifts to friends and family, it was an economical way to go.

Turns out, they took that option away.

Now, if I want to send a children's book or two to LittleMan's godbrother in Sweden, it will cost me $30. Thirty FUCKING DOLLARS!!! And anything over four pounds starts at $37.

Read that again. FOUR pounds! Not ten, not twenty, but FOUR! That's like two onesies and two baby books! Un-god-damned-mother-fucking-son-of-a-
bitch-believable.

A pox on the USPS.

However. However.

It turns out we know someone going back to Sweden for the holidays. We call, email, SMS. Do everything we can think of to catch her before she heads to the airport. Nope. She ran out of money on her phone, so she did not see our messages until after she was actually sitting at the gate.

It wasn't meant to be. Our Christmas presents weren't meant to get there. Or were they?

Because then we got a tip from that same girl that HER friend was also going home for the holidays. Today. We've never met her, never talked to her. But we called, emailed, SMS'd begging her to take these baby books to Stockholm with her if she had the space.

She called us back. She had the room. She would be happy to help us out.

She took time out of her busy, crazy, packing college-student schedule to meet up with Hubbie last night to get these books into her suitcase.

As I type this, somewhere over the Atlantic is an amazing girl who took pity on a family whom she had never met to deliver Christmas packages to children she has never met.

The USPS can try and out-price things so that no one but the rich can afford to send even a simple package overseas. But they can't kill the human spirit. They cannot put a price on the generosity of people--both here in the US and those foreigners who come to our country to visit, to learn, to live.

This Christmas, there is no doubt in my mind that Santa is real. I have met her, and her name is Martina.

6 comments:

Patois42 said...

Hooray for Martina!

Coal Miner's Granddaughter said...

"Un-god-damned-mother-fucking-son-of-a-
bitch-believable"


Damn, girl! I'm exhausted and yet still, you make me snort with laughter! Tyler's step-niece was studying abroad, in France, last spring. All she wanted for her birthday was a bag of plain M&Ms (her fave candy that she couldn't find ANYWHERE over there). So, ONE FUCKING BAG cost me $30 to send. The fucking shipping was more than the stupid candy.

Now, that's love.

Fuckers.

Unknown said...

Oh, I'm so glad you found her! What a great money saving idea. I, too, wanted to go postal on the postal system. Specifically on Snapfish, but also on the USPS for being inept.

Major Bedhead said...

This? This right here? "Un-god-damned-mother-fucking-son-of-a-
bitch-believable." This is a thing of beauty and a joy forever to a confirmed potty mouth such as myself. I bow to your swearing prowess.

I have to ship a quilt to Ireland soon. I dread thinking what that will cost....


Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Jen said...

Hey, you left a note in my chat room today, I think, or sometime (Jenorama)-- yes, I would be who was written about on Homesick Home.

Anonymous said...

Nice. Leave it to the postal service!

Hey, I know another blogger friend who purchased gifts overseas on an overseas Amazon and had them sent directly to the receiver.

Maybe that could work for next year.