Do you remember the days when you had to lick stamps before affixing them to the envelope?  For that matter, when was the last time you had to buy postage stamps?  It's probably been a while.  I wonder how many people know the location of their nearest Post Office?  Times, they are a-changin'.

There's been talk lately about the fate of the US Postal Service.  It seems there simply isn't enough business to support their current infrastructure.  One of the options being discussed is the closing of local post offices.  There are 32,741 post offices in the country, and the agency is considering 3,200 of them for closure.  Further, a list of 700 of them has been made available for public viewing.  Of those 700, only seven of them are in North Carolina.  Five are in Charlotte, one in Asheville, and one in Fayetteville.

Another option being considered is ending Saturday mail delivery.  This makes sense, too.  As volume decreases, the delivery cost per piece of mail goes up.  Whether the mailman brings you one piece or ten pieces of mail, he expends the same amount of gas in his car and still has to be paid his salary.  As any business must do to stay competitive, either quality and services must be improved, or costs must be reduced.

Here's another thought.  What if the postal service closed altogether?  Doesn't private industry have more of an incentive to keep costs low and stay competitive?  After all, part of the Postal Service's fiscal mandate is to break even each year.  That doesn't offer much incentive to improve automation and efficiencies in the production -- or in this case, delivery -- process. 

When the Postal Service was created back in the late 1700s [Note: Benjamin Franklin was the first Post Master General], there was no private industry capable of reliable mail delivery.  Therefore, it became the responsibility of the government to fulfill that need.  Today is different because there are already several domestic and international delivery services available to everyone, not to mention the immediacy of the telephone and email to communicate almost instantly.  While the USPS has served its purpose for over two centuries, maybe it's time to look at things differently now.

In any case, if the mailman does continue to deliver, I have one request.  If I have mail today, leave the flag up for ME.  When I have mail for you to pick up, I raise the flag on the mailbox.  In return, when you put mail in the mailbox for me, how about raising the flag so I'll know something is there.  There's nothing like that deflated feeling when you walk out to the mailbox only to find it empty.  Of course, when that happens, I just walk inside, turn on my computer, and check my email.  Ahh, that's where all my mail went!