return to sender.

I don’t mind going to the post office.  It’s generally not busy, the postal clerks are friendly and you get to choose from cute stamps.*

Today I was going to buy a stamp and ended up behind one other person. I wasn’t in a rush and didn’t mind waiting.  And I’m sure the clerk was happy to have someone to shoot looks of *oh my god can you believe this is happening?* to.

Because the girl in front of me was having some issues.  She needed to buy a manilla envelope.  Not so hard.  But then she didn’t know how to address it.  As in, she had no idea where the “to” and “from” addresses are supposed to go.  Her explanation? 

“I’ve only ever used email before.”

She was in her early twenties.

When she finally managed to get the envelope situation together she handed it over to the clerk who asked if she also wanted postage.  At this the girl became very confused.

“Does it cost money to send mail? It’s only going to Toronto.”

Toronto is about 4500 kms east of here.  I know Canada Post delivers Santa’s mail every Christmas, but they aren’t actually elves.  Multiple people need to pick up, sort, drive, and deliver a letter for it to get to where it’s going.

So yes, it will cost you $0.85 to get it to Toronto in about 3 days.

The kicker?  I peeked at what she was sending… it was a scholarship application.

*the current stamp for letters from Canada to the US is a photo of a baby mountain goat. I squealed in delight and had to resist grabbing it. Kudos Canada Post on your delightful art choices.