I recently received a letter from a friend in St. Paul.
I live in Minneapolis.
The letter was mailed from St. Paul and arrived 11 days later, which is odd because St. Paul and Minneapolis are really not all that far apart.
The mystery was solved by the "Melba, ID" postal seal on the back of the envelope. The letter had gone through Idaho. Naturally. I've heard St. Paul to Minneapolis via Idaho is both a logical and common postal route.
I thank my lucky stars that said letter, though very much appreciated, was not something more important, like an eviction notice or something telling me I'd won a million dollars or a living will. If I had been waiting to know whether or not to pull the plug on an incapacitated relative, I don't think I would have taken too kindly to Mr. Postman's Western Excursion.
Yet another reason for training my own fleet of carrier pigeons.
