My MIL and FIL live in a condo on a culdesac with the community mail box by the street entrance. I have been trying to get their mail delivered to the door.

FIL ran over himself with a tractor a couple of years ago and after a year of recovery and 2 surgeries, the bottom 5" of one femur is a cadaver bone. It healed surprisingly well but is considered fragile. If he breaks it again he will lose it. He has fallen several times retrieving the mail.

MIL has emphazema and is steadily falling into dementia. We don't need her walking around alone anywhere.

In order to get mail delivered to the door, they had to fill out and sign forms and I had to get letters from their physicians stating why they shouldn't be walking out to the street in the winter. This application went to the local postmaster and an office in SD for approval. It was approved and now here's the problem.

We immediately installed a mailbox next to the walk-in garage door. After a month, the mail was still not being placed in it so I went to the post office to see why. Today, a guy called when I was out and told dh that the box has to be out on the front of the garage by the big doors so he can drive up to it and not have to "dismount" to reach it. Yet, putting it where he wants it would require FIL to walk OUTSIDE or open the big garage door and be open to the weather to get to it. The kicker is, to get to the box where we placed it, he can drive to within 3 feet of it. I cannot believe the LAZY #$%^ can't "dismount" (what does he drive, a horse?) and walk 3 lousy feet to the mailbox!

I stopped at the post office and talked to a supervisor after dh told me about the call. I could not believe the crooked logic being invoked on this issue. It was all I could do to be civil.

My dh will walk in a blizzard to the bottom of a coulee and carry an 80 pound calf up the hill to the barn, all in the course of a day's work. This postal delivery person can't lift his lazy a-- off the seat of his heated little jeep to put a few envolopes in a box.

I was told that even after the hardship application is approved the carrier does not have to comply if it is a hardship for him. Forget about the fact that an old man could lose his leg, just don't ask the postal carrier to walk!

I realize there are many postal workers out there working their butts off. I respect them and am grateful for what they do. Just tell me how to get this lazy one off his butt to deliver mail to this one old couple.

[ February 23, 2006, 03:05 PM: Message edited by: Dotsie ]

This is so surprising to hear. Our mailman would walk the face of the earth to deliver for us. The problem lies within this one postal worker. He may have soem issues with the postal service and is choosing to make life miserable for others as a result.

Good luck!

Might be better off to just get a PO box and pick it up weekly for them.

Or have a neighbor pick up their mail from the community mail box area and bring it to them. I live in an adult community, and the people here do that for those who can't get out easily all the time.

Flippero possibly a neighbor child say 10 or 12 or so might be willing and dependable enough to retrive the mail for them after school etc. Maybe pay them a little something weekly. Our post offices here are a joke, cold, but I have a wonderful mailman and can always tell when he's gone and theres a substitute. I hope all works out well for your MIL & FIL.

[ February 23, 2006, 08:58 PM: Message edited by: chatty lady ]

Thank you for the ideas, ladies. Most of their neighbors are south for the winter and there are no children in the neighborhood. I plan to pursue this at least as far as the postmaster, as it is pure laziness on the part of this mail carrier. We just had 4 inches of snow and he still left their mail out by the street for them to walk to. I can't believe how boorish he is being about this.

Flipperjo I was going to pick up mail this morning and watched several of the residents walking to their mailboxes using a walker. Our boxes are at the end of each street. I asked a lady who said "without it she would fall but with it she is a steady as a rock." Of course we don't get snow here for them to worry about but maybe a walker might help to steady him....

[ February 25, 2006, 10:18 PM: Message edited by: chatty lady ]

Nothing gets people's attention as much as the media. Call the local paper and have them do a story on it. Bet you'd get results. JJ

Great idea JJ. The ombudsman just might work also.
chick

Notifying the press, or even threatening to, works wonderfully well on bureaucracy. I got suddenly wonderful service that the VA hospital had been with witholding from my husband when I threatened to call the press. All of a sudden the supplies they claimed they couldn't give us magically appeared. To this day, I don't know if I would have gone through with calling the newspapers and tv stations, but I believe I was angry enough to mean it when I said it.

People liks the postal service don't want the bad publicity. I say, go for it!