Mailbox

Prior to moving into our new house, we noticed there was no mailbox. I asked the builder and they said they don't provide mailboxes since many people like to pick out their own.

So without a mailbox I decided to take the opportunity to meet the mailman as he was delivering the mail from his Jeep. I explained that we'd just moved in and didn't have a mailbox yet. The mailman was very nice and said it was no problem. When I saw him drive up the street I could come outside and he would give me the mail until we got a box. He also told me that the mailbox needs to be on the opposite side of the street from our house, since our street is a driving route and he does not get out of the Jeep.

I got the mail the next day, but unfortunately the following 2 days were his days off and the mail was delivered by substitutes who did not know why I was standing outside in the cold at the end of the driveway with no coat on.

We purchased a mailbox but did not purchase a post for it. I really didn't want to have to try and dig a hole in the frozen ground, get the post in straight, and then attach the mailbox. Its been really cold and windy here, despite the fact that we live near the beach. Plus, I reasoned, our neighbors across the street have a mailbox on a post that could easily accommodate a 2nd box. So I asked the neighbor about adding our mailbox to their post and they quickly agreed. It would prevent the street from getting crowded up with mailbox posts AND keep me from having to install the post or pay someone to do it. In the meantime, we still wanted to get mail so I had to come up with a way.

I took one of the large packing boxes I'd emptied and placed it next to the neighbor's mailbox post and set my mailbox on top of it. That seemed to work well the 1st day. But the next day it was very cold and very windy. The temporary mailbox stand (the large cardboard box) did not handle the gusts very well. I heard a clankity-clank sound, looked outside, and saw the mailbox in the street and the large cardboard box in a neighbor's yard. I went outside to get the box out of the neighbor's yard and get the mailbox out of the street, set them back up, and put a scrap piece of wood on top of the cardboard box for weight. Several minutes later I heard the mailbox hit the street again, so I repeated the above mentioned steps, but this time took my neighbor's trashcan (which hadn't budged an inch) and put it next to the cardboard box, wedging it between the neighbor's mailbox post and the neighbor's trashcan. (Fortunately they are very nice and are only here on weekends.) A few minute later I heard the mailbox hit the ground again. I repeated the above mentioned steps and this time picked up a bag of Qwik Crete and weighted down the cardboard box with it. "I don't think you're going anywhere NOW!" I said out loud to the cardboard box. The mailbox and cardboard box remained in place and I got the mail.

However, yesterday morning I happened to look outside and noticed the mailbox was gone! It wasn't particularly windy outside, and the large cardboard box (with the scrap wood and bag of concrete) was still in place. I'd gotten Saturday's mail out of the mailbox on Sun afternoon when we returned from VA, but Mon morning the mailbox was missing.

Several ideas began to float around in my mind. Why would anyone want a mailbox with someone else's address on it? It wasn't a particularly 'nice' mailbox. It was black metal, and was the least expensive one in Wal-Mart.

Had the neighbor's handyman taken the box to add a bracket in preparation for mounting it? Not likely, since the box disappeared sometime after dark Sun night and before light Mon morning.

Had the mailbox blown off its 'stand' by a strong gust of wind? If so, I should have been able to find the box somewhere nearby, but a search of the surroundings did not reveal the mailbox.

Had some teenager decided to play a prank on us by taking our mailbox? If so, then perhaps the prankster would return the mailbox, again under the cover of darkness, in a day or 2.

So we're going to give it a day or so and if the mailbox isn't returned 'miraculously' in the night or by a neighbor who found it in their garden, we'll buy another and actually attach it to the post.

Drag Queen name of the day: Bess Wishes