Well what an interesting find! The photo above is that of an ‘old fashioned’ “mail chute”. Antiquated, perhaps. However, it appears that it is still working! When you have that burning need to pop your letters into the post, you simply open the ‘chute’ from your designated floor, and down it travels into the letter box! This mail carrier dates back to the early 1900s. Isn’t it a beautiful, brass structure?
If I worked in this building, I’d want to be the mail person simply to have the fun of tossing the mail down the chute and waiting to hear the ‘thunk’ noise as it collides with all the other envelopes. Silly me. I am amused by the most simplistic things. I don’t know about you, but I gain a great satisfaction by mailing something. Opening the mail box, ensuring the letter finds its way safely down the chute before you close the little lid. Then I say, “it’s on its way” and walk away from the mail box with a smile. I hope I’m not the only one who thinks this way!
Ah, the mail; whether delivered down a brass chute or plunked into a blue or red mail box, it means we are sharing communication of some sort. I often wonder the journey one single letter takes before reaching its destination. The mail can be quite well-traveled!
In this day and age of electronic communication (which is what we are all engaging in at this very moment as you read this!) I find it rather comforting to think that the ‘physical mail’ is still thriving. I won a contest not too long ago. A large, padded envelope unexpectedly arrived in the mail. With the fervor of a child on Christmas morning, I tore that yellow, bubble wrapped package open in a nanosecond.
“Congratulations! You have won third prize in our winter wonderland contest. Enjoy your oven mitt.”
Oven mitt? Where the hell is the other one? Ah, I think I know. That must be reserved for the fourth prize winner. Maybe I should track that person down, send them my oven mitt, and the two mitts might meet somewhere in “maildom”. *sigh*
Oh well, like the saying about buses, “There’s always another one arriving.” In this case, more mail for me to get excited about. And who knows, perhaps the next contest I win will arrive in an even bigger, grandiose envelope with something really spectacular inside, something amazing and…………………..
Sorry, I got carried away for a moment. If you need me for anything, I’ll be back in a few; I just have to go and check the mail. 🙂
The Chicago Files 