[AGL] snooping at the US post office

[Michael Eisenstadt]

Gerry & Bill,

I am not paranoid about this because i dont care one
way or the other. My life is an open book ;-).

But unlike Gerry's and Bill's small town post offices,
the one i am referring to is a big one, a full block at
6th and Guadaloupe with thousands of p.o.boxes.
There are some clerks whom I sort of know and
who know me by sight I suppose who sell me stamps.
When I have a letter to sign for, I notice the clerks
always look at the yellow notice for name or pobox
# in order to go and retrieve the letter.

Whereas I dont remember ever having seen the
gent at the parcel delivery window (which is only
open in the morning), yet he knew my pobox #
just to glance at me. I do not care one way or another
whether he does or not but I still find it a mystery
as to how he was able to do it. His window has
its steady customers in the AM who are picking
up their packages by the sack full. Yes, those
folks he would know. But I dont get packages
and when i do (maybe twice a year) it is usually
after his window is shut and i pick up the package
from the clerks behind the counter.

I would like to think that the gummint is doing its
job of snooping on p.o.box customers who are
probably up to no good by even having p.o.boxes. I'm
just curious about the details. In these days of
imaginary terror threats, is not the gummint photocopying/
x-raying every letter addressed to a p.o.box in case Osama
sent it? It is probably impossible to exaggerate the
extreme weirdness that gummint bureaucracy is
capable of.

Mike

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Irwin" <billi at aloha.net>
To: "survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s" 
<austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>
Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2006 2:06 PM
Subject: Re: [AGL] snooping at the US post office



> Yea Mike, it's not a conspiracy.  We used to call this service not a

> conspiracy to spy on you.  Same in my post office, they all know my face,

> name and box number.  If I go to the counter they address me as Mr. Irwin

> and I don't have to remind them of my box number.  I think it is service 

> and

> small town politeness.  Consider yourself lucky to have someone who

> remembers you - it could be worse.

> Ewie

>

> ----- Original Message ----- 

> From: "Gerry" <mesmo at gilanet.com>

> To: "survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s"

> <austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>

> Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2006 9:54 AM

> Subject: Re: [AGL] snooping at the US post office

>

>

>> Mike,

>> If I were you I wouldn't be paranoid about it. He has probably been

> putting

>> mail in your box since 1959 and knows you and hundreds of others whose

> boxes

>> he services.

>>

>> There are about 300 boxes at our PO and Virginia, the Post Mistress, 

>> knows

>> which face connects to which box. If one of us wants to send Christmas

> cards

>> or party invites to locals all we have to do is put the name and a stamp

> on

>> the envelope and she will put them in the proper box. There are some 

>> smart

>> people working in the great PO community (which still works amazingly 

>> well

>> in most places in spite of occasional foul-ups).

>>

>> Tomorrow morning I depart for the Bay Area. Will spend a couple of weeks

>> there with old friends and my daughters. Please disconnect my pairlist

>> connection until I return, say January 4th. Thanks and a very happy

> holiday

>> to you and all the correspondents in our little virtual community.

>> G

>>

>>

>> ----- Original Message -----

>> From: "Michael Eisenstadt" <michaele at ando.pair.com>

>> To: <austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>

>> Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2006 10:03 AM

>> Subject: [AGL] snooping at the US post office

>>

>>

>> > I have had a p o box since 1959. Usually the

>> > annual invoice is put in your box the first week

>> > of December. Yesterday the invoice not having

>> > arrived and in view of the fact that one time in

>> > the early 60s, my p o box was shut down for

>> > a week on Jan 1 until i discovered it confronted

>> > them with my receipt for having paid for it and they reopened it,

>> presumably

>> > merely through sloppy bookkeeping, I went in to inquire.

>> >

>> > A seedy looking guy behind the dutch door where

>> > one can pick up packages in the AM, when asked

>> > about the invoices, looked at me and said 2672?

>> > I was amazed but said nothing. He said he would inquire about the

>> invoices.

>> >

>> > This morning there was a handwritten note in my

>> > p o box: "Rent notice go out on the 20th."

>> >

>> > Aside him knowing my face, name, p o box, and

>> > who i get mail from, one can speculate also on the fed cops having

> gotten

>> > behind in snooping on who has p o boxes so the invoices are going out

>> late.

>> >

>> > Maybe it is just a game to the seedy gent, memorizing

>> > all that he is capable of. For example, i used to keep

>> > the scores of 4 bowlers playing together in my mind while setting pins

> at

>> > the bowling alley out of sheerest boredom.

>> >

>> >

>>

>>

>

>