Mail Call

My brother-in-law Rich arrived home one afternoon to discover a card stuck in his front door. It was from his mailman, advising him that an oversized package was being held for him. Rich drove into town to the post office, waited in line, and, after a few minutes, stepped up to the counter.

“I'm here to pick up  a piece of mail that could not be delivered today,” Rich said. “I had a note from my mailman saying the box was too large for my mailbox and he didn’t want to leave it unattended at my front door.”

“Do you have the card?” asked the clerk, Ed.

“No. I didn’t bring it with me. I didn’t think that was necessary,” Rich said. “The delivery was from this morning.” He told Ed his name.

“I’m not going to go back there [to the parcel room] and look through every package,” said Ed. “I need the card.”

So, Rich dutifully returned home, retrieved the card, and drove back. When he got up to the counter and found Ed occupied with another customer, Rich repeated his story to the other clerk on duty. “I was here earlier today,” he told her, “but I didn’t have the card with me.”

She took the card and retreated to the back. She returned immediately.

“It was the only package back there,” she said.