New evidence exonerates Post Office. This new, unexpected development shocks me. I feel compelled to explain this strange new development, and to admit I rushed to judgment too quickly. If you read my last post (see here), you already have all of the facts, each one of which is absolutely correct. Here is a summary of the story.
On August 24, I mailed a package containing a book from Overland Park, KS, to Missoula, MT. That package traveled to Denver, Billings, and then to Missoula, where on August 28, it was sent out to its final destination on Anglers Bend Way. It never got there. Instead it was returned to the Missoula Post Office where it was processed and reprocessed before traveling westward to Spokane and then Portland.
Back to the middle of the country
Having no business in Portland, the package was sent back to my neck of the woods. It disembarked in Olathe, Kansas, a city just south of Overland Park. It then spent a couple of days bouncing around the Kansas City area before ending up in, of all places, Pleasant Hill, Missouri. The Post Office in that town put it out for delivery on September 5. All of these movements have been verified by USPS tracking tracking information.
Here’s more background information. I addressed the book to the daughter of two dear friends of mine, now both sadly deceased. The daughter and her husband had moved to Missoula several years ago after building a lovely home on Anglers Bend Way. They sent me photos showing their lovely pastoral surroundings and expressed how happy they were there. It was their dream home.
Can you guess what comes next?
The USPS gets its share of complaints (see here), but in this case it emerges with little blame.
The couple and I hadn’t communicated over the past couple of years. I decided to surprise them with the book. I didn’t alert them that it was coming. Okay, those are all of the relevant facts. Are there any Sherlock Holmes reading this and already nodding their heads? If so, you have zeroed in on the problem. It was me!
I should have checked with the couple. If I had, I would have learned that they had decided to leave their idyllic home and surroundings for one overpowering reason: to be near their grandchildren! And where do you think they moved to? Did those of you with Sherlock-like perceptions nail this one as well? The answer? They moved to Pleasant Hill, Missouri!
This new evidence exonerates the Post Office. I concede that. I think the detour to the West Coast was unnecessary, and wasteful, but the package, if things go well, could be picked up tomorrow, although the story isn’t over quite yet.
The couple to whom the book is addressed has been traveling. They arrived back in Pleasant Hill hours ago. They had read my post and assumed the package was meant for them. Time is precious. The Post Office has issued a warning saying that if the item is not arranged for re-delivery before September 19, (today is September 18) it will be returned on September 20. Does that mean it will be returned to the sender? That’s a scary thought. If it does come back to me, it will have traveled thousands of miles for nothing. I’m not sure the little fellow on the cover of the book would be glad to see me. As you read this, cross your fingers.
Ken, I think you could write another book based on this adventure.
I thought the story was all wrapped up neat and clean when I posted the original, Michael. All the parts fit together. I saw no other explanation. I’m certain that any jury, based on my findings, would have voted unanimously for conviction of the Postal Service. But my case unraveled today when I emailed the woman I had sent the package to. I asked her whether she perchance had seen my post. She replied by return email, saying that she and her husband were on the road, coming back from a trip to the West, her husband driving. Yes, she said, she had read my post and assumed that the wandering package was meant for her. “I couldn’t wait to get your book,” she added. “I downloaded it on my iPad, and am reading it right now. I’m on Ch. 4, A Life Without Frills. I am really enjoying your book. . . . Can’t wait to receive our well-traveled hard copy 😉.”
So the story appears to be ending well. I won’t relax completely, however, until I hear that the book did not slip out of Pleasant Hill before being claimed tomorrow morning.