Mail

I love the mail. For as long as I can remember I've been fascinated with sending letters, cards, packages. I always loved receiving mail, even when the mail is unimportant junk mail.

These days, I send much more mail than the average person. I collect postcards and send them out often, as well as exchanging letters with one of my good friends fairly regularly and sending cards and packages to others. I think there is something miraculous about how the mail works - you put a simple 44 cent stamp on something, write a few lines, and it can cross the country. Add another stamp and it can cross the world for just about a dollar. Honestly, it's logistically amazing.

People here so often get frustrated with the USPS (United States Postal Service) - they're too slow, the lines are long, they lose mail, their customer service sucks - and honestly, it's really petty. Most of the time they do not lose mail - trust me, I send a ton of it. And how could they not lose a couple of pieces along the way? Anyway, I really appreciate the postal service. Love it, in fact.

So, getting to the point - most people here don't have mailboxes of the sort I'm used to in Texas - the ones on posts at the end of the driveway. Most mailboxes here are up near the house, and much older, with a lot of variety between boxes. It's also much more common to put names on every single mailbox of every single resident, and what I absolutely love the most is how every building has a different way of marking the boxes. Some are handwritten, some typed, some from a label maker, some from a typewriter. It's lovely. I always think I'll stop and photograph a set of boxes some time. So today I did.

I love the variety of last names in this particular set too - French, Hispanic, and Asian. Boston really isn't quite as diverse as this implies, but it put a smile on my face nonetheless.

Also, three cheers to me for an early blip!

Oh, and I'd be happy to send anyone greetings from Massachusetts via postcard if you're interested!