2017 Life Logs, Day 332: Kudos to the US Postal Service
Date: Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High Temp 48, Low 44 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA
I could be speaking too soon as I have two very precious packages on their way to Puerto Rico through the US Postal Service, but I have to trust that they will arrive safe and sound just as all of the others I have that were sent to Justin and Jo since Maria. But regardless, the USPS works tirelessly to get the job done. And I have found out in the past two days that they do the big jobs for considerably less than UPS or FedX. Yesterday I sent Justin’s computer via USPS Priority for about $19 plus the cost of insurance. It would have cost somewhere around $85 to send it via UPS. Today I spent part of my afternoon disassembling a large wooden doll house Mark built for Ollie so that I could send it to Coco in Puerto Rico. Ollie has lost interest, but Coco’s life revolves around her dollies, big and small. This doll house weights about 25 pounds and is constructed of Birch plywood. Even dismantled it took a 24 inch x 24 inch x 6 inch box for sending and UPS was going to charge $145 plus the cost of insurance. The US Postal Service Priority cost was $60 plus insurance. I ended up stuffing a lot of Mark’s pants and shirts in the box to pad the cargo and that added another $15 due to the weight, but since the doll house would cost $350 to purchase and Justin will get some clothes, the shipping cost was most reasonable. Thank you to the US Postal Service!!! And unbelievably, when I showed up at the Post Office this afternoon, they reminded me that I left my rolling cart there over a month ago and they have been saving it for me.
I spent my morning going to the hospital for a bone density scan and then made a visit to the chiropractor. I was last there three months ago and I felt like it was time for a tune-up. I made a trip to the Waste Management Facility Swap Shop to drop off some items, came home for lunch, and then headed to Heather and Jed’ to dismantle the doll house for shipping. Then it was to the gym for a Kick Boxing class. It was the first time I have gone to this class, but it was a great workout that I will revisit. Justin called just when I got home to report in. He said that the Florida trip was a wonderful break, but it unfortunately reminded them of what normal life is really like. He is finding it very difficult to get back into the groove of life without electricity. Just keeping up with doing the laundry by hand is tough. But not being able to get any work done without commuting to Mayaguez is tougher. He’s using a tablet to do his work until his computer arrives, and that is not easy either. I heard the mayor of San Juan on the Rachel Maddow Show this evening. She said Puerto Rico needs three things—debt forgiveness, tools for rebuilding, and power. That pretty much sums it up for Justin as well. He is now entering week 11 without full-time work, and even with the support of family in paying the personal bills, the business needs money to make payroll. Hopefully that solar system will be installed soon so they will have power. And then we’ll have to work on getting the internet back. One step at a time. As Justin and Jo both reminded me when we were in Florida, things are tough for them, but at least they have roof over their heads. It is unbelievable to me that there are still so many people in Puerto Rico who still do not even have a tarp to serve as a roof. So sad and unforgiveable. I know this country can do better than this.
