COVID Card #101

August 14, 2020 | 0 comments

It was never my intention to get too political or controversial with COVID Cards. I wanted to bring awareness to the struggles of the USPS and encourage people to buy stamps and send letters — that’s it. If half the adults in the US bought one $11 sheet of stamps, it would mean $1.1 billion dollars (minus costs) for the USPS. That’s not enough to save it, but it would be a start. Buy stamps. Save the USPS.

So much has changed since that day — 101 days ago.

Last week, I started seeing social media chatter about public mailboxes being removed in “suburbs.” The posts didn’t give details. I asked Google about it. I could find no solid evidence suggesting this was true. Two days ago, friends who live here in Portland, Oregon started posting photos of mailboxes being taken away.

Below is a photo my friend took of the area where a mailbox was removed near his house. The caution tape is used because bolts left behind make the spot dangerous. I’m not even going to get started on that. The other photo shows that Americans are watching and listening.

Mailbox removed
Mailbox shrine

The line from the Postmaster General is that boxes are being removed where there are clusters of boxes, making extras unnecessary. The box that was removed near a friend’s house was the only one in the vicinity.

I will here, again, list some of the things we can expect if the USPS goes away or fundamentally changes:

  • No free daily mail pickup and delivery
  • Having to schedule mail pickup or take outgoing mail somewhere
  • $8 (this is the lowest price for sending a letter via FedEx or UPS — and since researching that, I’ve heard it’s even more) or more to send a letter that currently costs 55 cents
  • People in rural areas having to drive to pick up packages or pay more (currently, the USPS delivers “the final mile” for private services in remote areas)
  • The elderly and shut-ins having to pay more for prescription medication delivery
  • People in rural areas who depend on their local post office for money orders and bill pay services will have to travel farther to get those services

Articles about the removal of mailboxes:

Ways you can help save the USPS:

Cards 1-100

To learn more about any of the first 100 cards, select a number from the list below.

COVID Cards

The United States Postal Service has been hit hard by the pandemic. Controlling elements of the Federal Government (the president and Republican Senate) do not want to provide aid to the service. So, it’s up to us. It may seem insignificant, but if we all sent just a few letters a week, we could help ensure that our daily, free mail delivery service continues. For the past (see the card number above) days, I have drawn a card each day and mailed it to someone the next day (none are sent on Sundays; two are sent on Mondays). Please consider mailing cards and letters while we still can for 55 cents (first class letter postage). If the USPS fails, you could find it costs $8 or more to send a letter. And that’s just one of the ways we will all lose if the USPS shuts down.

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