So many choices. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The timing of what happened yesterday vis-à-vis my blog post, “Death of a Salesman,” is eerie . . . Hitchcockian, if you will. Fodder for a Stephen King book. The Hallmark Movie Channel called me for the rights to the story.
My mail was delivered to the wrong house yesterday. Gasp, shock, horror!
It wasn’t just one slim envelope mixed in with someone else’s mail. It was the whole kit and caboodle of magazines, junk, and a bill or two.
Do you suppose my mailman read my blog post? Did he take umbrage with my observations and decide to hijack my mail?
But here is where the story gets more eerie.
(Cue creepy music . . . dum dum dummmmm.)
I never met the person who received my mail. She lives less than a mile from me by car. As the crow flies, her house is a hop, skip, and a jump away. (I love the opportunity to use two idioms in one sentence.)
The kind soul who was subjected to my junk mail sent me an email that said:
Dear Robin:
The post office mistakenly delivered to me a big chunk of your mail. Coincidently, I had viewed your great Blog before, so I went to your blog and got your email address.
Since I live so close, I was just going to come by your house and drop off your mail in your front porch after picking a couple of my kids up from school around 3. Hope that is OK.
The only thing NOT eerie about this story is she called my blog “great.” She is one smart cookie.
But here is something else strange. Very few people in my real life know I have a blog. Of those who do know about it, very few read it. (I could use some therapy about that.) How did she know about my blog?
So what are the odds?
Robin writes a post about the postal service.
Robin’s mail is delivered to the wrong address the next day.
Robin’s neighbor reads Robin’s blog.
Robin’s neighbor leaves Robin’s mail on Robin’s front porch with a note saying that she too is an aspiring writer and would love to get together to talk about writing.
(Why am I talking in the third person?)
Sure, I tag every post with “writer” and “writing,” but out of the six katrillion writer/writing blogs out there, my neighbor knows about my blog? And then gets my mail by mistake?
Again, what are the odds?
Three questions for you:
Does my mailman have a vast postal-wing conspiracy against me?
Have I buffaloed my neighbor into thinking I am a writer?
When a tree falls in the forest to feed the junk mail mill and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
Thank you new friend and fellow writer for re-delivering my mail. Thank you Mr. Mailman for correctly delivering my mail to me in the future. I won’t blog about you again, I promise.
Related articles
- Death of a Mailman (robincoyle.wordpress.com)
Robin Coyle 
I would change your name, dye your hair and go on the run. They’re after you.
My new name is Pete Denton.
Now they’ll be after me! The post’s just been delivered and I’m scared to go check 🙂
It all sounds a bit X Files- ish to me….
Seriously.
I don’t believe in coincidences. There is something afoot, Robin, so be very, very careful.
Ok . . . now I’m nervous.
fate intervenes in the strangest of ways
ps if you stop by my fb page today just put up some pics of the monster dressed as a Gruffalo
I shall do that!
Very strange indeed.
Very weird, Robin. Some strange tumblers fell into place in the Universal field of synchronicities for all of this to happen. Who knows?
I’m not sure what to make of it. My guardian angel watching out for me and my mail?
Before opening that door, check outside…how many birds are there? Sitting around? Flying? Sure it’s a bird and not a drone?
Definitely Twilight Zone worthy…
That’s it! That is the answer. Drones!
This is so strange, it must be real!
Trust no one, Robin,
Except for me, of course.
Of course I trust you . . . about as far as I can throw you.
In answer to your three questions I say: Yes. Yes. & Yes.
Great story. Maybe you can weave it into whatever you do with The Hallmark Movie Channel. Everyone would understand and enjoy a tangent involving mess-ups a la the Post Office.
You know, in all fairness, the post office does an amazing job. Even with the decline in mail volumes, think of all the mail they handle everyday. I sent my folks a letter and they got it the next day. Pretty amazing.
Care to star in my Hallmark movie?
I agree. Overall they do a great job. And I am grateful for it– most days.
That IS a funny story! It’s always strange when real world meets blogging world – I don’t know if you remember, I did a post about several months ago where I said that I had met someone at something, and the next day he posted on my blog to say that he had known I seemed familiar the day before but didn’t realise till later that it was because he was a follower of my blog! Only a few of my real life people follow my blog, and I always find it strange when they refer to something I’ve written on there!
No, I believe I missed that post. That is amazing and small world-esque. Funny how we call it real life and blogging life . . . like blogging isn’t real somehow.
I just checked back and you did comment on that post, so you had seen it, but it was last August so it’s not surprising you don’t remember! Goodness knows how many posts we all read in one week, let alone several months! Hmmm, maybe the blogging world is actually the real world, and other world is all in our imagination!
I’m a dingbat. Good lord, I have trouble remembering what I had for breakfast.
Was it the post you wrote about “if you met your blogging friends do you think you would be friends in real life?”
Yeah, I did a couple of posts around that time about the relationships we have with blogging friends.
That was when we started talking about getting together for a cocktail party. It all comes back to me.
Yes, we need to revisit this cocktail party idea, it’s a good’un.
I hear that ‘Psycho’ music playing … watch out when you’re in the shower Robin!
Oh great. Now I have to worry about the shower AND my mail not making it to my house?
I love the synchronicity (yes, Robin, that’s what it truly is) when things just happen like that. God is in control and there is a good reason why it all happened exactly that way. So, go visit and enjoy.
Scott
Yes, I am looking forward to meeting my mail rescuer. It feels like we were destined to meet and will be great friends.
Haha, how funny! There’s a book idea in there somewhere, I swear. Well, the only thing I can say is, you couldn’t have found a nicer lady to get your mail. I wish I knew more people like her. She gets my random act of kindness award for this week.
Yes . . . I think most people would have put my mail back in their mailbox with a note telling the mailman it was mis-delivered. Or worse, thrown it out. Taking the time to deliver the mail to me speaks volumes about her character.
Now you can bake your famous chocolate chip cookies with rotten eggs for her kids.
I’m not sure what she will make of that. I think I’ll stick to good eggs.
Good choice! 🙂
When I saw Death of a Mailman – part 2, I thought “how much more is there to say?” but it’s a great tale, the sort that I enjoy, and all the more for your telling of it 😉 I call it fate, or synchronicity but creativity, honesty and connectivity had a great deal to do with the happy outcome.
I have a feeling this gal and I are going to become friends. What is not to love about someone who took the time to deliver mail to a stranger. Our universes collided.
Wow! That is just strange. Another case of 6 degrees of separation? Either way, this has all the earmarks of fiction thriller!
The twists and turns of the inner workings of the postal service is sure to be a best seller.
Not to mention the whole “Rear Window” aspect that seems to have added texture to this entire saga. 😉
That is a great movie. I love Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly.
Me, too, though my all time favorite older actor is Cary Grant. To borrow a phrase from the older generations… He was absolutely dreamy!
Ha! As my mom would say, he was a dreamboat.
Hmmm, this could be worked into a novel alright!
😉
Fifty Shades of Post Office Blue?
LOL . . . Serendipity!!! LOVE IT:-)
And I love the word serendipity!
Weird!
Yup. But I think this gal and I are meant to be friends.
Hmm, perhaps it has something to do with the law of attraction. Maybe you were supposed to meet this neighbor and writing about the mailman drew that to you! Okay, so not everyone buys into that stuff. Or, maybe the neighbor concocted the whole thing in order to meet the famous writer Robin Coyle (sorry neighbor, just kidding). Or … I could keep coming up with them, but I’ll spare you.
Something tells me this gal and I are supposed to be friends. Or maybe, I have a fan club of one and fate wants us to meet.
Quite the synchronicity! And definitely cue the Twilight Zone theme…. And keep an eye open for men in black….
Is that why Tommy Lee Jones knocked on my door last night?
I think you’d be safer with him than with Alex Trebek (who played one on the X-Files)….
Alex Trebek was on the X-Files?!?
One episode, maybe two if it was a two-parter. I think it was one of the earlier seasons, and it was a tongue-in-cheek episode as I recall.
eerie, indeed (cue music) !!
How do things like this happen? Karma? Fate? Dumb luck?
little bit of everything– don’t you think?
I agree with that.
Your mailman is clearly trying to start a pro-postal movement by bringing like-minded mail recipients together. So, yes, it is a conspiracy, but a nice one.
How thoughtful of my mailman. And here I thought he made a mistake.
All the more reason for you and I to save this fine organization.
We can be super heros. I will buy us masks and capes. Would you care for a pair of tights too?
Tights? No, thank you.
And have you ever seen The Incredibles?
NO CAPES!
Somehow your post didn’t show up in my reader and I only happened to find it because I wanted to send you a note. Well, I’m glad I did…the post was hilarious…and a little bit creepy. Boy, it’s a small world!
On another note, check out my Gravatar as I think the problem is resolved…at least Gravatar thinks it is…please let me know if it is working okay.
Hmmm . . . nope. No hot link still. I can click on your gravatar and get to you, but not by clicking on where it says Mrs. P. I wonder why I didn’t show up in your reader. The mysteries of WordPress continue. Glad to stopped by tho!
Bizarre! Maybe the mailman is married to the neighbour and she’s been saying ‘I want to be like Robin Coyle’ for so long he got sick of it and gave her your mail. I did a quick calculation and the chances of all these things happening together as a coincidence is about a gazillion to one 😀
You made me laugh out loud. That must be it. My neighbor is married to my mailman. Perfect explanation.
Quick! I’m thinking this is your week to play the lottery. Call it syzygy, or whatever. Otherwise, I’m freaking out right along with you.
Excellent idea. I’m off to buy a lottery ticket. I’ll split the winnings with you.
Forget worrying. This meeting was meant to be. You two will become friends and you’ll find out she’s a lost relative or a relative and someone is holding an inheritance for you. See. It’s all good.
I like how you think! A new friend and an inheritance all because of mis-delivered mail.
I appreciate your neighbor. For five years I lived in a neighborhood where I had a similar address to a neighbor, e.g.: 123 Lovely St vs 123 Lovely Dr. Over the years I delivered many packages and cards to them that were sent to me by mistake. Not to mention all the repairmen and delivery trucks that had to be redirected that family’s way. Yet not once did they bring a single item to us.
Two possibilities: 1) In five years they never mistakenly received our mail. 2) …….
Point being, be glad you have a good neighbor.
Also, I love your short paragraphs. Way easier to read. Remember that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery please. 🙂
I think it is the second of your suggested possibilities. They couldn’t be bothered. Really, people?
I am a fan of short paragraphs too. I find white space fells with timing and readability. I’m also a fan of short posts. When there are too many words, my eyes glaze over. I am a bear of very small brain. And thanks for the flattery! It will get you everywhere.
You see that nondescript sedan parked out there? The one with the two guys with aviator sunglasses in the front seat? Is that a laser microphone?
You mean those guys looking in my front window through binoculars?
Ssshhhh.
WOW! What an amazing set of coincidences! Better to write only nice things about the post office now! 🙂 You never know who is reading your blog! 🙂
And I better write nice things about my neighbors!
Oh my, that is one definitely creepy coincidence. I wonder if that lady Googled your name and – in an attempt to appear completely un-stalker-like – told you that she reads your blog and that she knows your email through it? Completely hypothetical, of course!
Well . . . she did tell me she recently moved to the area and searched WordPress for writing blogs written by people in the Sacramento area. But to find one right around the corner? And then get my mail? Oh, I know . . . maybe she stole my mail in order to have an excuse to meet me. Not likely.
and you thought Big Brother was just in a book!
And here all this time Big Brother is my mailman.
who knew?
A conspiracy. Definitely a conspiracy. Be careful where you walk. Be careful what you say. And most of all, be afraid. Be very afraid…
Great. One more thing to worry about.
I do what I can…