Letters

Dear UPS,

I just wanted to write and let you know that your carrier, I., is the best one we've ever had. Ever. He is unfailingly polite and smiling. He takes pride in his job. When we were away we had our mail held at the post office but of course packages continued to arrive by your shipping service. I. made sure they were on the porch, tucked up away from sight (to prevent theft) and out of the elements. The next time we saw him after we got back he asked if we had been gone and if we had gotten the packages he had left. At Christmas he always calls me to the side and whispers that a box has come for one of the children that has a large photo if the item on its side, and would I like him to sneak it up on the porch after we've gone back in?

In short, he is absolutely fantastic. We can't praise him high enough. But while we feel he deserves a raise, please don't promote him. We don't want him to leave our route.

Sincerely,

A Satisfied Customer

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Dear God,

I don't want to be fussy or complain or anything, but I can't help noticing we've had over 12 inches of rain since the beginning of December. Now, normally I don't make requests regarding the weather (well, not too many) but could you possibly arrange for us to have some sunny days so we can dry out? The forecast is calling for more rain over the next week and while I usually accept the weather as it comes, we are drowning here. You may have noticed the increased chaos in the house over the last several weeks. If the children don't get out and run some energy off I may be repenting of murder.

Humbly,

An Increasingly Cranky Mom

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Dear Grocery Store Manager,

I feel the time has come for me to make a suggestion: could you please get an expert in to show your checkers how to bag groceries? Now, most of them don't make the mistake of putting a loaf of bread at the bottom of a bag of cans but putting a bunch of grapes under two cantaloupes is just about as bad.

Surely you are trying to cut costs like the rest of us. One way to reduce waste is to insist that more than two items go in a bag. I save the bags to reuse at home, but I am running out of space. I should not be ending up with as many bags as I do from one grocery run.

My last observation is about frozen and refrigerated items. I know that when customers throw groceries any which way on the belt it can be hard to group like items (although more of an effort can be made). On the other hand, when someone (like myself) carefully places together canned items, boxed items, and most importantly, cold items together on the belt, one is assuming the checker will be bagging them together. Basic science will tell you that cold things keep colder on the trip home if they are next to other cold items.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter,

A Frequent Customer

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Dear City of McComb,

When you sent one of your officials by last summer to tell us that it was our responsibility to grub out the weeds in the cracks of the gutter and street in front of our house, we almost thought you were kidding. My understanding is that the property owner is responsible for the upkeep of the yard, all the way to the sidewalk (if there is one). The city is responsible for the upkeep of the strip of grass from the sidewalk to the street, and certainly the upkeep of the street. Now, I think we all agree that there is a gentleman's agreement that the property owner mow the strip of grass on the right of way when he mows his lawn. But it stops there. Simply to be nice (and because we realized that the city was going to do nothing for the upkeep of the roads) we actually got out there one hot day and dug out the weeds and poured weed-killer on the bare spots that were left. But never again.

I might point out that if the roads were kept in better repair, weeds would not have a chance to grow through the large cracks in the pavement. The next time you request that we do any such foolish thing again, we will be sending you a bill.

Unsincerely,

A Disgusted Citizen

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Dear Blog Readers,

I appreciate you all sticking with me through thick and thin, good times and bad, things I thought were funny that you didn't, amateur writing attempts, etc. I have enjoyed getting to know some of you. It is always appreciated when you leave comments because I like getting mail (who doesn't?) and those are like little letters. 

I know I don't really fit in with any blog genre. I've read the advice for writing a popular blog, making your blog work for you, getting a cohesive platform and marketing your blog on other social sites. I just can't follow it. I'll never put advertisements up because I don't like to look at them myself - why should I make you all look at them? It's not worth $.67 a month. I can't confine myself to one platform because I write all over the place. I started the blog because it was fun. If it ever starts being more work than fun then there's no point. I'll only keep blogging as long as we are all enjoying it. If that means that I am perched in a little corner by myself while all the popular blogs race past, then that's just fine. (: 

So that's it, just letting you know I appreciate you all. 

Sincerely,

Mat. Anna

p.s. Not to be obvious or anything, but did you catch the bit about me liking comments?