more mailbox stories

MORE MAILBOX STORIES
we pay for the sins of our youth sometimes
when i was growing up we and i wont mention any names
to protect those folks
you know who you are

but i will admit involvement in what happened
im sure the statue of limitations for conviction has passed



we were known to have thrown rocks at
baseball batted like a home run swing
2x4 slammed
and
sorry to say shot gun or pistol or rifled
mailboxes

now since we moved to the rural area i have been
paid back multiple times for our youthful sins

first when we moved in
it should have been a sign
there were several holes in my mailbox that
appeared to be from a gunshot wound
and
there were several dents in the side of it
but
it was a functional mailbox still so i used it
figuring that a new one would just get damaged



eventually i found this old beat up mailbox
way over our rock wall in a mangled heap of metal

yes i recycled it since it was all metal
staying green even in adversity

i went to a big box store and found the cheapest one i
could find
and put it back on the post on the side of the highway

since that one ive lost 4 of them
some from vandalism or should i say probably
youthful indiscretion
and
the others from a full blown attack from trucks not quite
making the curve where we live

i recently read an article about people removing mail from
mailboxes in the austin area
getting information and checks used to commit fraud

my neighbor called me once
say a lady in a white car is getting your mail
called the cops and they were on their trail
but they got away

so i went back to the box store
bought me a lock up box
im sure they could break into it
but at least if they did i would know

then
an old guy missed that curve again
i heard it when he hit the mailbox
it sounded like a bomb went off
that box and pole went flying for a long distance
down the road

the road crew came by later and put up a new pole
one that is breakaway
they knock it down and you just stick it back in the ground
but
they said no big old lockup mailbox is allowed
so
i went back and bought this cheap plastic mailbox
that they put up for me
then
after a few weeks i replaced it with this bigger lockup
mailbox

i sure felt secure having that mail all locked up inside there
there has been no evidence that it has ever been
tapered with

then
bam
i could see the tire tracks leading up to the
mailbox
then there was that breakaway post and this mangled
mail box laying several yards away

this time
i removed the mangled mailbox
yes i recycled it
put back the breakaway post
got a new mailbox
yes a lockable one

now im just waiting until someone else misses that curve
which i notice always seems to happen at night
after midnight

maybe i should just put my mailbox up on this rock wall
like this
so that they cant reach it

its funny when i think about all this
i never get mad about all those mailboxes
im resolved that
its my payback for my youthful indiscretions

now when i was growing up yes we did things to mailboxes
and signs
but we never ever would consider stealing someones mail

my how times have changed

the organicgreen doctor

the mailbox, links

THE MAILBOX

this is the picture of the infamous mailbox
if you worked with me before at one of the clinics
then you know the mailbox story

it was given to me eventually as a gag gift i think
birthday gift from the employees one year
i think they enjoyed this way too much
they actually put a lot of time and effort into it

yes my wife she was in on it
i remember being at the mailbox picking up our mail
when my wife and the mailman was talking about some
old plow thing but at the time i didnt pay much attention
to it

when i moved to this clinic it was in a smaller town
things were done like they all ways were done
one was that the mail was placed in this big old mailbox
out front

one weekend i was doing the landscape for the clinic
yes i was involved with landscaping and gardening
back then
i looked at the old mailbox
the door to the mailbox was wide open
it was misty rain
i pulled out the mail and it was all wet and it had
stuff in those envelopes that shouldnt have been so
exposed

so i turned my ocdness or some might say
aspergerish fixation on something
towards that mailbox

i would not take no for an answer
no said the post office we cant deliver it inside the building
but they did that all over town even next door
i was tenacious but i guess thats not what the clinic
boss would call it

finally after awhile the post office began delivering the
mail inside and sometimes someone had to go downtown
to pick up the mail

im sure there were folks that didnt like me after all that
but
i felt like it was the right thing to do
all that privileged mail not protected

after i won the fight
or did i

i moved on to other things to become obsessed with
one was cutting down an old hackberry tree that was dying
and hanging dangerously close to the building
that one i never won
i guess like hackberries will do it eventually all fell apart
hopefully without falling on someones car or head or the
building itself

i moved to austin so i didnt finish that battle

then one holiday not long after the mailbox battle
not sure if it was christmas or my birthday
there appeared in the hallway at work
that mailbox
all decorated up with disney characters especially
my favorite donald duck
on the side were still the numbers that were the original ones
it was held up by that disc my wife was talking to the mailman
about
i think everyone enjoyed themselves yes way to much
but
i filled it with donald duck stuff
the kids loved it

when i moved i gave it away
it sat on the employees porch as a decoration for a few years
then she contacted me
do you want it
of course i did
i knew exactly where i would use it

in the corner of my garden to hold all my garden tools and
supplies like diatomaceous earth bt garlic spray insecticidal soap
hand trimmers etc

its all faded now those disney characters
sometimes i will stand in the garden
looking at it with that address on it
those disney guys
that old disc plow holding it up
and
i just laugh and smile

makes my day it does

LINKS
for those who were at my talk yesterday
here is
the link to the 21 question alzheimers questionnaire
the link to the online 5 best alzheimers self memory tests
the link to the alzheimers research center at ut southwestern dallas
the link to the central texas alzheimers association

the organicgreen doctor