flipper, sounds like you have one tough cookie on your hands. Good luck.

Flipper, any success?
chick

Only more frustration, Chick.

I took digital photos of the area in question and brought them to the post office. Of course, the person I needed to talk to wasn't there. This was my third trip to the PO with no success.

I finally called the 800# listed in the phone book. When I started telling the guy on the phone what was going on, he gave me the number for our local post office. What a round-about way to get the local number!

I finally got through to the supervisor and then to the postmaster. She told me that the request had not been officially approved, that they were only going to deliver to the house for the winter months, and only if we put a temporary box on a pole in a pail of sand, in the spot specified.

I also found out that even though the carrier didn't have time to get out of his jeep and deliver the mail to the box we'd put up, he did have time to spy on Grandpa. Turns out, he watched Grandpa with a snow shovel, pushing snow away from the garage door. This is when we found out that the condo assoc. fee does not include shoveling by the doors, only plowing in the cul-de-sac. We had no idea that he was doing that shoveling. Now we are trying to find someone to do that.

Back to the mailbox - the spot where they insist we put it is right next to the drain spout for the roof so he can't drive up to it anyway. Also, it is the only place available for guest parking so if anyone else is there, he still can't get up to it.

Here's the really stupid part - he can drive up to within 3 feet of where the box is on the wall with no obstacles. 1)He can't just step out of his jeep and walk those three steps. Because of postal service regs, he has to shut off, brake, and lock his jeep if he gets out of it - even to step three feet away and get right back in. 2)He could very easily pull up and then back just a few feet to it without getting out but the regs also prohibit them from going in reverse.

This is all so much bull. It is one of those cases where common sense is regulated right out of the system.

To top it off, when I first made the application, I specifically told them to contact me, not the folks, when they had word for us. Instead, the mail carrier stopped and talked to Grandpa who agreed to everything the man said and then got it all mixed up when he told us, and left out half of it. So, if they had just contacted me in the first place, like they were supposed to, most of the time and frustration spent could have been avoided for all of us.

All of this simply confirmed what I already know - anything involving government beauracracy is going to be a long, slow process of total frustration!

I still say go to the media... If the post office comes off looking uncaring and unsympathetic, then so be it, let the envelopes fall where they may. It sounds as if that is exactly how they are acting.

And yes, common sense and decency should play a part here. Wonder how they would react if it was THEIR relative. Bet they would drive up and deliver the mail personally. They will be old someday and they better hope that Karma doesn't catch up to them....JJ

I'm with JJ - go to the media. Let them scream that it is totally unAmerican not to deliver the mail to their door and how terrible the PO is about treating the elderly. The mailman should be fired. Whatever happened to rain, nor sleet or snow? This guy needs to get his lazy butt out of that truck and do whatever he has to do to get the mail delivered. Mailmen never used to use a truck. Remember when they walked and carried the mail in a big bag?

Louisa

The media is out of the question in this case, JJ, because MIL and FIL would rather die than have that kind of attention so I have to respect that. I would love to do the media scream, though.

As for "whatever happened to rain...", Louisa, I was told by the postmaster that she is running a business and getting out of the truck is not an efficient business move. She neglected to recognize the fact that our tax dollars enable her to run her little business and that MIL and FIL have paid more than enough taxes over the years to expect their postal carrier to accomodate their elder years.

We are currently looking for someone to bring in the mail and to shovel snow for them. Many of the neighbors go south for the winter and there are no kids in the area so it is not an easy task. FIl is totally unaware of his own safety issues, so he doesn't help himself by doing things he shouldn't. He is like a 2 year old that way, just in his own world when it comes to protecting himself.

That postmaster is way out of line. If she's funning a business, which SHE isn't - it's the United States Postal Service - then inform her that her customer service department is seriously lacking quality. This makes me so angry.

I live in a condo and we have some elderly people here, but it's not an elderly place. We have mailboxes in a central place, but they are inside the building. We are the first unit on the first floor, so for us it is right there almost at our door. Others have to grab their mail on the way in or out or come down on the elevator. It's still pretty easy. I have a friend who lives in a townhouse in a huge complex. She has the type of box you are talking about. Of course, she's not elderly and picks up her mail as she drives by on her way home. But there must be elderly people living there as well. I had not thought about this before. I will ask her if they have a problem with it.

Louisa

My Mom lives in a condo in a community of primarily elderly people with that kind of mailbox arrangement. She is still able to do most things for herself, but I know there are many people living there who can't. Some have caregivers who either live with them or come in on a daily basis. But many others don't. I will ask her what they do when someone is unable to pick up their mail safely.

Thanks, ladies! If FIL wasn't so stubborn, I'd have their mail held and pick it up once a week myself, but he is so unaware of his own safety issues, he'd never go for it. He still thinks he's a farmer, too, drives us nuts treating dh like a 12 year old.

Sounds like my mil, Flipper! I don't know how my hubby puts up with her!