The U.S. Postal Service should probably have dropped the word “service” from their name some years ago. Always on the edge of collapse, the Postal Service limps along with fewer and fewer clerks and more pressure to mail things oneself. Unfortunately, unless whatever you want to mail fits neatly into their set postage boxes and you want to send the package only to the U.S., you still need to visit an actual post office. You also need to stand in line. Usually a long line. Sadly, by the time you get to the front of the line, it is likely that you have erred in some way. The tape is wrong. You needed a form you didn’t supply. Your box is oddly shaped and doesn’t conform to the legal requirements(which you unfortunately didn’t know.)

To make matters worse, in my experience the unhappiness of post office workers is only exceeded by the misery of motor vehicle office clerks. Here it would  be handy to have someone else mail things for you. Interestingly, people are still needed to mail things, so auxiliary places have sprouted up with names like “Your Post Office.” For an extra fee, these people will wrap and ship things for you. I still wrestle with the idea of paying someone else to send my package through the U.S. mail system. I somehow think I should do it myself. Surely it can’t be as awful an experience as I have made it out to be.

After visiting the Post Office and standing in line, I can report back to you. Yes, it actually is that awful!