Nine items that will probably disappear in our lifetime.

[SSDreamin]

I have a great mail carrier She is always friendly and, when she called me very early in the morning to tell me my chicks were in, I told her I wouldn't have transportation to pick them up for a few hours and she offered to drive them out to my house before she started her rounds, so they wouldn't be stuck in the office any longer than necessary. The ladies at the office are always helpful and friendly too, and my outgoing mail moves amazingly fast to its destination. UPS has delivered our packages to the wrong house and left a large box(that contained cornmeal) out in the rain on my deck, but I agree that they (and Fedex) are friendly and usually pretty good about things.

Back home, our carrier was a nightmare. We lived at the end of a private drive and she would not drive down to deliver packages or registered mail unless she felt like it. We never mailed out things on Saturday - if it went out on Saturday, you could almost guarantee it would take 3 weeks to get to its destination. We frequently received sale flyers weeks after the sale was done or magazines a month late. The people in the post office were usually very nice and helpful though, even during the holidays.

As far as tipping goes, for better service, there is no way I will tip someone who makes better money than I do (at least here they do) for doing the job they are paid to do. If they are paid under minimum wage and rely on tips to live (waitresses/waiters & bartenders spring to mind), I have no problem. Since when should you pay extra for service they were hired and are paid to provide?

 

[meriruka]

I could live without all that stuff except books and seed catalogs. I really love snuggling on the couch on a crappy winter day with my pile of seed catalogs, planning out my garden for the spring. It's just not the same shopping for seeds online.

 

[abifae]

There used to be 2 newspapers in CO, but Rocky Mountain News went under, so we only have the Denver Post. There is so much FREE news online, no one wants to pay. And since no one, paid or free, delivers any truth, doesn't really matter who you read.

 

[Britesea]

most people don't read the newspapers anyway--- they watch the news on tv.

as to both The Check, and Privacy... I figure it won't be long before ALL of us are microchipped (they are already doing this to some seniors with dementia-- for their protection of course :/ ) and among other info, it will also access our funds (so much safer than cards, doncha think?)

 

[abifae]

I read a LOT of sci-fi. I've read this one and it doesn't end well.

 

[Boogity]

Like Leta and several others have said, I love to hold my paper book in my hands as I read. I also love to browse in a used book store. There is something about the feel, the smell, and the personality of a good book. But I also would like the convenience of an electronic book.

The check, newspaper, TV, and things are evolving into memories only. I may not like all of these changes but I'm not devastated either.

As far as the postal service goes I do think there could be a need for a lean-n-mean USPS in the future as UPS and FedX are not really set up for daily delivery of letter type shipping and delivery. My biggest gripe with the USPS is that they could see the handwriting on the wall 10 to 15 years ago and they did not downsize in a systematic way to keep up with the public's needs. They chose to remain bloated with personnel and equipment that they really did not need to keep. This resistance to timely change makes them non-competitive. Another thing is that they only have two real competitors, UPS and FedX whereas many other companies in the USA have much more serious competition from the good-for-nothing Chinese. Thanks to the Americans who choose to purchase Chinese junk.

 

[Kala]

My father works for the post office. And I can tell you that he has put in a good 24 years with a now very uncertain future. For the last several years they have continually treated their employees worse and worse. And pushed them to the breaking point with various threats and daily gloom and doom. There are very few legitimate reasons for poor service and I am certaintly not making an excuse for anyones bad experiences, but this is just a little insight for the people side of things. The post office business in itself has obviously made some choices etc that will eventually come back to bite it in the butt. But unfortunately, like lots of things, its the people who are just trying to raise their families and put food on the table that will suffer the most for the decisons that were out of their hands to make.

My father takes pride in his work, but it has gotten harder and harder for him to continue to do that being treated the way that he is. His most proud moment on the job is when he found an older woman who had fallen outside and broken her hip. She sat outside all day until my father came to deliver her mail and found her there. He stayed with her until an ambulance could arrive and then always checked in on her while he was on that route. And in another instance another older lady was having trouble getting outside to get her mail, so they began taking it to her right in the house even though they certaintly did not have to do this. So all mail carriers aren't bad apples. I know this is a little off topic (ok way off topic! ), and certaintly doesn't take the business side of things into account but my father has given alot of his good years to that place and gone out of his way to try and make things a little better when possible and been beaten down in return. But he had a family to raise so you do what you have to.

Anyway, I'll put my soapbox away now and get back on topic.

 

[Kala]

The town I live in is also at least 10 years behind, if not more. I wish it would stay that way.

 

[freemotion]

There was a story on the tv news tonight about the USPS being so far in debt that it is in danger of being shut down! They are trying to get permission to reorganize and "run it like a business." One of the items mentioned in the story was to "reorganize" benefits and pensions. Say bye-bye to your pension, postal employees, sounds like. They said it was to bring it more in line with what current businesses were doing. Again, say bye-bye to your great benefits, postal employees. :/

(DH works for the state and we know our days are numbered, too. :/ :/ :/ )

 

[R2D2]

I don't watch tv or own a cell phone.Have always had a landline telie and my internet connection is dial-up..Still write checks and refuse to do online banking...! I won't lose those things unless they are take from me in the name of technology,which would not surprise me.I only support limited technology, as far as giving it to the public, for our national defense, by all means technology rules...IMO