Don't Mess With the Post Office...

I wasn’t going to write about the Chicago Blackhawks’ little RFA Incident because I didn’t really care about it. Especially now that it’s a moot point because they re-signed all of their guys anyway. However, recent events have caused me to rethink my reaction to this situation, and I want to present my traumatic tale as a word of caution about why you should never tempt karma.

When I first heard the news about the late qualifying offers, a little part of me was happy at the thought that the now slightly scary Blackhawks might lose some of their RFAs to UFA status. Then, when I heard that the reason the offers didn’t arrive on time was because of the postal service, I had a good laugh. It’s possible that I even made a joke about the fact that while neither rain nor snow will get stop the postal delivery, they’re apparently no match for a sunny day in July. This is where I went very, very wrong.

You see, I am expecting two important school-related packages in the mail. A couple of days ago, I became impatient waiting for the one I had ordered first to arrive so I contacted the seller and got the tracking number for the package. Upon looking it up on the Post Office website, I discovered that the package had been recorded as having been delivered. After spending an afternoon on the phone with my local Post Office during which they told me that I was pretty much out of luck, I was given the number to the United States Postal Inspection Service so that I could file a mail theft report. I got to spend my whole lunch break yesterday haggling with them, and while they claim that they’re going to investigate, I have a feeling that I’m going to be dropping another forty bucks to replace the textbook. On top of this, I needed the contents of my other package for a class yesterday, and it was supposed to be delivered by Monday. Somehow it ended up getting “missent” to Philadelphia instead, and it’s unclear when I might be graced with its presence. Seriously. This is not a joke.

While I realize that nobody reading this blog actually cares about the plight of my textbooks, I wanted to present this story as a little parable/fable/moral lesson. That lesson? Never mock the Post Office. Bad things happen when you do this. It’s too late for me, but I hope you remember my tragic tale in the future should you find yourself tempted to poke fun at our excellent and dedicated mail carriers. I’m tossing around the idea of taking up stamp collecting in an attempt to reverse the bad mail karma I’ve apparently brought upon myself.