What is the abbreviation for Post Office ??? P.O. This is very appropriate! I am sure that there are many people who got P.O.’d at the P.O. I went there Saturday around noontime, and there was a sign that no transactions could be done due to having no internet. So my 2 boxes of lead that I could have readied for shipment were put on hold until Monday.
So, today I try again. I had a nagging feeling that there would be a problem. And sure enough, the Internet went down just prior to my arrival. I was standing in line with my 100 pounds of lead and then I hear: we can only sell stamps and it is cash only!!! So I go up to the clerk and verify that I can take the packages to another post office, even though the shipping label states the location I am mailing them from is Stratford. Yes I can. And then the clerk said that Saturday’s problem seemed to have corrected itself on its own. There had been a repairman that came today, and went into a manhole. But with the Internet working upon the repairman’s arrival, I suspected that he did not do much of anything, if anything at all (seeing that the Internet was working). However, after he closes the up the cover to the manhole, the clerk said that he saw the repairman drive away just as the Internet went down!! He said we can wait but it was anyone’s guess as to how long the outage would be. And even if I left the packages there, they would not be put on the truck without the Internet working. For the post office, the acceptance scan is not a requirement – but the departure scan is.
My practice is to have all packages scanned at the counter in order to get an “acceptance” scan on record – to prove that the packages were delivered to the post office. And when they leave the post office at the end of the day, there is another scan done when they are put on the truck (a “departure scan”, as noted above). I had to be back home 3 and I got to the post office at about 2. So I went to Milford and the post office that is by “The Green”. To my dismay, I saw a flight of stairs, but was hoping there was a handicap access around the corner of the building. It was drama just getting my cart from the street to the sidewalk, even though it is handicap accessible. But the small inch or so step, made for a difficult time with the hard wheels on the cart. I managed to get it up and rolling down the street. My heart sank when I asked some of the people coming and going, if there is a handicap access. Nope. So I had to deal with it and lug the packages up the flight of stairs. I had no time to go another 2 miles to the next post office that is on the flat. A lady was nice enough to hold the door open for me. I folded up the cart, and brought that inside too. Then set it up so as to wheel the packages to the windows. I don’t have any packages to ship out tomorrow, unless there are funds waiting for me when I check the post office box. I hope they get the problem fixed!
All comes to a standstill because everything is electronic and connected to the Internet. It is only a matter of time when there are widespread Internet outages due to terrorist activity so it may be best to be prepared, like having extra cash, gasoline, food supplies, etc., stowed away. I am glad that I believe my 1942 Ford GPW will still run if there is ever an EMP that fries all the electronica.
