A quick post today (by my standards at least) to let my Canadian correspondents know that I am thinking of them. Though I might have been guilty of such things in my youth, these days I try not to take the mail service that I receive for granted. I am aware that as someone who still enjoys corresponding with others via the mail, I am part of an infinitesimally small subset of people who choose to do so. I am also well aware that in this ever-changing world, government-run postal systems are under more pressure than ever before. So while it saddens me to watch the postal stalemate playing out up in Canada these days, I cannot claim that I am surprised by this. Regardless, I do feel badly for anyone who is being negatively impacted by the current situation up in Canada. This certainly includes those Canadians who take the time to correspond with me, most of whom I consider to be my friends.
While the primary point of this post is to let my Canadian friends know that I am thinking about them, I can’ t seem to do so without acknowledging the pickle that Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers find themselves in. I certainly do not mean to make light of this situation, yet I can not help but wonder just how much the average person worries about such things at this point in time, provided that they are worried about them at all. One of the few constants in life is change, and sometimes that change can be painful. While it is my friends to the north who are currently dealing with such pain as it relates to the conundrum facing Canada Post and the CUPW, it will likely be me and my fellow Americans who find ourselves dealing with much the same at some point down the road. Should that happen, then I suspect that it will be my Canadian friends who will be looking on with the most empathy.
Hang in there my Canadian friends and know that I very much look forward to receiving your letters once again at some point in the future. Hopefully that happens sooner rather than later.
AFTERTHOUGHTS: As I worked to put this together, I thought to myself that it would be just my luck that the impasse between Canada Post and the CUPW would come to an end just as soon as I published this post. For once, I would be happy to claim such “bad luck”. Watching the world change at the rate that it is can be particularly hard at times — especially when it reminds me of just how rapidly I am growing old. Such emotions were weighing on me as I wrote this post. But I know that I’m not the first to feel this way (and I certainly won’t be the last).