I happened to come upon a quote from John Updike. Here is part of it (emphasis mine):
"...I sent letters to great and distant men, cartoonists and writers, some of whom deigned, to my eternal gratitude, to respond. Each day's mail brought potential treasure. This is still true for me....It is the United States mails, with the myriad routes and mechanisms that the service implies, not to mention the basic honesty and efficiency and non-interference of its thousands of employees, that enable me to live as I do, and to do what I do. I never see a blue mailbox without a spark of warmth and wonder and gratitude that this intricate and extensive service is maintained for my benefit."
We should all be very appreciative of postal workers and it is unfortunate that they are underpaid and undervalued. Think of all the important things—voting ballots, college acceptance packets, love letters, postcards from abroad, etc.—that arrive at our homes from places near and far. Granted, so many things have moved online in our lifetime, especially since the pandemic hit. But we still need postal mail.
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