And Still I Rise

About two weeks ago I read in one of the local newspapers that soon several local post offices would be closed. This is due to the fact that the Government is finding it not feasible to maintain them given the diminishing usage and low returns.

Growing up, it was common to hear my Granny marvel at how things had changed from her childhood to adulthood. Who knew in my relatively short life the landscape as I knew it would be changing so rapidly. As a child, being sent to the Post Office was a common feature in my life and one that I looked forward to. Among other things it was an opportunity to meet up with friends and play games whilst waiting for the usually yellow mail van to show up. As you grew older it was no longer games but chatter about boys, music, fashion and whatever else was of interest to the teen mind.

Then there was the excitement when the mailvan appeared. Those of us not yet in the vicinity would race to the Post Office just to make sure you were there before the postmistress opened the mailbag. We would all crowd into the Post Office and watch as the postmistress handed over her bag of outgoing mail and collected the incoming mail from the driver. She(it was never a he) would then go through the ritual of breaking the seal(somehow I remember matches and wax) and empty the contents on the desk.

After this, names of the mail recipients would be called to which those of us on the receiving end would shout "yes". The Postmistress always knew which child belonged to which family and so there was no risk of delivering mail to the wrong hands. We would then make the walk back home carefully holding the precious letter and making plans to meet up again.

Now the Postmistress seems destined to be no longer a person in our neighbourhood. Instead she has been replaced not only by the email but Western Union and Moneygram as well. Gone are the days when a trip to the Post Office meant dreams of crisp notes. However, for many of us the memories still live on.