receiving parcels by mail

 Here on Washington Island the only parcels that get delivered to homes are by the USPS.  The usual suspects (UPS, Fedex, DHL and so on) don't deliver here, those parcels are brought over by the ferry company and the recipient has to go and collect them at the ferry dock.

Islanders seem to be OK with this but just consider if you were running a business and had to pay someone $15/hour plus benefits to jump in a vehicle and take a trip to the ferry dock every time a parcel arrived.  So I always get things mailed.  If a vendor won't commit to mailing something at ordering time (I'm looking at you Amazon) I won't order with them.  If they say they'll use USPS and switch me to another carrier (I'm looking at you Ebay drop shippers) I'll refuse delivery over the phone and get my money back.  7 miles there and 7 miles back is too much of a trip for me these cold winter days.

One online tool that the USPS has that I really like is called Informed Delivery: https://informeddelivery.usps.com .  Once signed up the user will get daily emails with impending deliveries and including thumbnail views of 1st class mail.

 

  The user can also enter tracking numbers on the USPS site (although they may show up automagically) and label the tracking numbers with a nickname for the item in the parcel, many of mine get the nickname cookies :)

I also enter outgoing tracking numbers for Jackson Harbor Press orders so I can keep track of when people receive their kits.  All Jackson Harbor Press kit and book orders are mailed.

So what was my favorite mailed package of all time ?  No, not a toy or radio or even that time my Dad got a cage full of honey bees from Sears and the mailman brought them to the door somewhat nervously.  http://www.thecatalogblog.com/2018/03/22/guess-you-had-to-bee-there/

No it was instant ramen !

Picture suburban Milwaukee in the 1960s during the summer so I'm at home from grade school.  We get a big box brought to the door by the mailman.  The return address on the parcel is Okinawa, Japan.  It was from a friend of my Mom's, Mrs. B.  Mrs. B's husband was a sergeant in the USAF stationed on Okinawa.   I remember Sergeant B's folks lived in the Milwaukee area and had a Magnavox color TV with a round picture tube and they also had a somewhat intimidating bulldog who was actually friendly :)

Anyway, back to the parcel from Okinawa, we open it and the thing that caught by eye was a case of Sapporo Ichiban ramen.  We open this box and there they were, 24 red/white cellophane bags similar to this currently available product.

 This was before I knew what ramen was.  Not an item you could get at the grocery stores in Milwaukee at that time.  My Mom quickly cooked one up and served it with sliced scallions and a coddled egg - I loved it then and still do today.

BTW Sapporo is the northernmost major city in Japan located on the island of Hokkaido and Ichiban means number 1, the best.  But I'll always associate Sapporo Ichiban with Okinawa.

Best Regards,
Chuck, WB9KZY
http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm