Postal Service Delivers Magic

Janice Kyser
3 min readAug 23, 2020

As a little girl I thought the postal service was magic. I would write a letter on wide ruled paper, fold it carefully and put it in an envelope and my mom would drive me to the blue box where I would drop it in the slot. Weeks later, my Dad, a young airman in Vietnam would call on a crackly phone connection and say he got it. I would picture my Dad in his starched uniform sitting on his bunk writing back to me. Then weeks later a small square envelope that had traveled thousands of miles and countless touches, would appear in our mail box

The U.S. Postal Service has played a very personal role in my life. As an Air Force family when we moved, it meant leaving friends, schools and connections. There was no email, no smart phones, no face time. My parents couldn’t afford many long distance calls, so the only way we kept in touch was by writing letters. I had pen pals all over the country and the world. The thrill of writing a letter detailing the highlights of my pre-adolescent life and waiting to hear about what was going on in the life of my friends was electric.

I thought the mostly men, who pulled up in their white trucks and walked up to the metal mail box right outside our front door in their light blue uniforms and darker blue sweaters, were heroes. They were the people who kept me connected to my friends. They are the men and women who continue to keep me and millions of other connected today.

I needed the kind words and tender sentiments they delivered to me when I lost my mom a couple of years ago. I needed the joy that came enclosed with the wedding, birth and graduation announcements I put on the side of my refrigerator. I needed beautiful and funny cards my sister, cousins and friends send to me that often find themselves as framed keepsakes in my home. I have boxes full of letters, cards and notes that tell the story of my life.

My sentimentality aside, they provide a vital service — delivering voting ballots, social security checks, Medicare cards, medications, checks, and other information vital to our democracy. Many postal workers are Veterans, many of them are Black and Brown. The Post Office brought them a middle class lifestyle and another way to serve their country. Everyday they confront mean dogs, mean people and inclement weather to get us what we want and need. Now, they are under attack by Trump and the big money donor he put in charge, they need us to come through for them.

As people are gathering at post offices around the country on what has been dubbed “Save Our Post Office Saturday” and The House is planning to vote to prove the post office the funding they need and deserve, take a moment to reflect on how the U.S. Postal Service delivers for you.

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Janice Kyser

Janice Hayes Kyser is a Las Vegas-based journalist who writes on a broad range of topics including social justice, health, fashion and adoption.