By :Curtis Morton
The way I see it, the Postal Services worldwide ought to be congratulated for their tremendous service over the years. Kudos must also be given to our local, hard working postal personnel from Post Mistresses, to postmen and women, to the various clerks who serve us on a daily basis.
So as world postal day was celebrated on Friday 9th October, I noted that we have come a long way and against all odds, the Postal Service has withstood the intense competition afforded by the internet and other more modern means of communication.
I for one, am not sure of the last day that I wrote a letter. Can’t really recollect the last day that I wrote anything more than two paragraphs long, really.
Now I really did not expect to hear myself saying that because I am from the old school and in the majority of my years, I have written almost everything. I mean pages and pages of it. Notwithstanding that my handwriting has been coded at best as being ‘UNIQUE.’
I actually resisted learning to use the computer, more out of fear of the thing than anything else and only went out of my way to learn to operate the thing because I was forced to. Now you can’t keep me off it and I hardly script anything that is not typed on a computer.
Well I newa!
I remember when I was studying in St.Lucia many years ago. A letter then was SACRED. It was much anticipated. Especially that letter from my mom, that came through probably every three weeks, which updated me on all of the happenings at home. Then I would respond immediately and enclose some money towards the planned purchase of my house and some little thing for my mom and dad from my stipend.
I also looked forward for a letter from my cousin Louis Newton who was studying in Jamaica at the time and who kept me updated on his run of high scores as he belted bowlers like Courtney Walsh and others, all around Sabina Park.
I remember sending one particular letter to my Mom. I had enclosed most of my stipend in it, with certain totals written for specific tasks. An amount towards my house; an amount for my parents etc etc.
Three weeks later I got a disturbing response. Now remember those days telephone calls were far and in between and rather expensive and the internet was not yet invented.
My mother sent back my letter in hers, indicating that the money that I mentioned in the letter did not add up.
I looked at the letter and realized that everywhere I had placed an amount, it had been scratched out and changed.
The money that ended up in my mother’s hands, was far less than what had left St.Lucia.
Somebody within the Postal Service had taken the privilege to pilfer some of the money. The only basic mistake that they made was not to ensure that the new amounts that they placed, added up to the grand amount that was left. Such details would not have slipped past my mathematically inclined mother!
I guess you should be saying that I should be happy that they left something huh?
Over the years, we have also heard stories of Postmen who opened people’s mails and took their belongings… but I guess they were talking about other islands. Certainly not Nevis…..
So, generally, the men and women within the service have toiled hard throughout the years and locally some new services have been added to keep the customers captive, having realized that people hardly use the snail mails anymore. These include the availability of top ups at the Post office and the newly introduced NPO SPEEDPAC initiative, whereby persons can now order necessary items from the USA and get them through the Postal Service within a short period of time.
Interestingly, I learnt today that only women have held the prestigious position of Post Master General on Nevis and one Postal worker was also happy to rub in the point that ‘women are taking over’ by letting me know that all of the current Principals of the Primary Schools on Nevis, are females.
So back to the Postal Service. What you want to tell me? The males on Nevis are not interested in MAILS?
Well I newa!
Anyway, respect is due to the Postal workers as they continue to perform a key service.
That’s the way I see it. How do you see it?