Re-Entry

Coming home from a ten day vacation means reading through my  mail--accumulated at the post office. When I picked up our mail I stashed it in a large cotton grocery bag usually reserved for food. The post office no longer supplies a rubber band to hold the mail together or a plastic bag.

At home we divided the mail into stacks-- mine, yours, and the ubiquitous junk mail. Why does the Boston Globe keep sending me letters to renew my subscription? After I received the fifth letter I began to count-- today I received the thirty-first letter. Don't they know I have a digital subscription? We parted company when their delivery prices went up and the newspaper never arrived until I had finished breakfast-- and sometimes it didn't arrive.

AARP believes that if they keep bombarding me with life insurance I'll bite the bullet and purchase a plan. I received three applications-- no physical necessary.

Then there are the books filled with coupons-- if I spend thirty dollars I'll receive a free dessert. If I plan to put siding on my house I can get a discount and pool cleaning prices are slashed in September. The only pool I've ever owned required an air pump.

After sifting through the pile I was left with a thin pile of envelopes-- no personal letters. Only a few people send letters.

Yes, I did purchase a subscription to the Times Literary Supplement. Twelve dollars was a bargain.