Hey, did you get my present (Christmas card, cookies)?
That time-honored excuse, “It must have gotten lost in the mail!” has taken on new credibility this holiday season, as the United States Postal Service, Fed-Ex and United Parcel Service all founder in a sea of undelivered envelopes and packages.
When I brought my giant cardboard box of gifts to the Keene Post Office and heaved it up onto the counter, somehow maneuvering it under the virus-proof plastic shield separating me from the employee behind the counter, it was still 10 days before Christmas. Maybe 9. Anyway, I was a lot earlier than usual, and, according to my receipt, my grandchildren in California could expect delivery Dec. 18. When I mentioned this to a friend who works for the Post Office, she said “They’ll be lucky if they get it by Christmas.”