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Post by motsamicaux on Nov 23, 2020 15:55:21 GMT
Today, a letter I sent, postmarked February 20, 2020 (an InCoWriMo letter) was returned to me ("RETURN TO SENDER, UNABLE TO FORWARD," etc.), nine months later. That's 55¢ down the drain....
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Post by Mia on Nov 23, 2020 19:01:51 GMT
At least returned rather than lost...
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Post by michelleg on Nov 23, 2020 19:13:40 GMT
Wild!
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Post by allanorn on Nov 23, 2020 23:03:35 GMT
Only nine months? Just had one returned from a local adddress; was in the system for twenty months....
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Post by motsamicaux on Nov 24, 2020 3:30:03 GMT
Only nine months? Just had one returned from a local adddress; was in the system for twenty months.... Wow.... Well, I guess letters fall out of the machinery now and then and wind up in nooks and crannies, only to be discovered when a 'deep cleaning' is done. Good thing you hadn't moved since that mailing. It might have created an endless loop of forwarding, returning.... All for the price of one stamp!
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Post by katiel on Nov 25, 2020 2:00:32 GMT
Okay, me too! Today I got a letter returned that I had written and, according to the postmark, had mailed February 18th. Where has it been all this time? The markings all over the envelope said the house at that address was vacant and they were unable to forward. The name of the recipient was unfamiliar, so I’m guessing it must have been one of the newbies who popped on here to do 5Q during InCoWriMo, since I think I tried to squeeze in 3 or 4 of those along with my regular penpals in February.
I guess I’ll open it up tomorrow and read the letter just to see what I wrote - I guess someone ought to read and enjoy that letter at least once before it gets thrown away. I’m kind of feeling almost a little sad, like I wasted not only time, but a pretty stamp and envelope, too.
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Post by hoyabella on Nov 25, 2020 13:26:47 GMT
I guess I’ll open it up tomorrow and read the letter just to see what I wrote - I guess someone ought to read and enjoy that letter at least once before it gets thrown away. I’m kind of feeling almost a little sad, like I wasted not only time, but a pretty stamp and envelope, too. In my stationery cabinet I have two letters and a card that were returned to me in the last 5 years or so. One of the letters is a mystery because the address was correct, valid and decently written (someone here at the forum knows that); the other letter was my second to a new but promising penpal, the other a card to a dear friend with lots of problems. I guess the recipients moved and didn't think of informing me - more annoying than the returned letter itself, this is the worst! Yes, it's a waste of time and stationery (about the stamps, I bet some people would like stamps or the whole envelope which had such an eventful life). However, it is a lesser evil, imho, than "friends" not caring to inform me about their moves or letters reaching their destination and remaining unanswered and unacknowledged. I like what katiel writes about someone enjoying the letter, eventually. So far I haven't opened mine. Maybe I think that I wouldn't really enjoy them ;-)
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Post by motsamicaux on Nov 25, 2020 18:06:39 GMT
I guess I’ll open it up tomorrow and read the letter just to see what I wrote - I guess someone ought to read and enjoy that letter at least once before it gets thrown away. I’m kind of feeling almost a little sad, like I wasted not only time, but a pretty stamp and envelope, too. ...I like what katiel writes about someone enjoying the letter, eventually. So far I haven't opened mine. Maybe I think that I wouldn't really enjoy them ;-) Maybe all these letters should be consigned to a... time capsule. I mean, an even 'longer period' time capsule than they've already been in....
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Post by katiel on Nov 29, 2020 19:11:56 GMT
Well, I opened up the letter today and read it - it really *was* like a time capsule. It was kind of cool, it was back before the world got turned upside down with coronavirus. I forgot what normal life was like back then! 🙂
But the super disappointing part was that the letter turned out to be from someone here on the forum who posted some 5Q for the February writing projects. I sent the letter only 18 days into the month and it didn’t have to travel very far. So what happened to him? How did he disappear off the face of the earth in less than 3 weeks? The envelope was marked “address vacant.”
I checked with Gary, and both of our returned letters were to this same person. What a bummer, since 5Q are normally such a safe bet (I mean they still are, this is obviously just a one time thing). But it’s sad to have all that time spent writing be kind of wasted.
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Post by motsamicaux on Nov 29, 2020 20:24:17 GMT
Well, I opened up the letter today and read it - it really *was* like a time capsule. It was kind of cool, it was back before the world got turned upside down with coronavirus. I forgot what normal life was like back then! 🙂 But the super disappointing part was that the letter turned out to be from someone here on the forum who posted some 5Q for the February writing projects. I sent the letter only 18 days into the month and it didn’t have to travel very far. So what happened to him? How did he disappear off the face of the earth in less than 3 weeks? The envelope was marked “address vacant.” I checked with Gary, and both of our returned letters were to this same person. What a bummer, since 5Q are normally such a safe bet (I mean they still are, this is obviously just a one time thing). But it’s sad to have all that time spent writing be kind of wasted. The letters in question, at least the one I sent, went to a Post Office box address. This is just a guess, but I think that the letters sat in that Post Office box until the 'rent' for it ran out, and then the Post Office workers emptied the box and sent all the mail back to the senders. Maybe the box holder forgot about having a Post Office box?
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Post by Mia on Nov 30, 2020 2:28:37 GMT
I have a feeling I sent this person a letter (checked my records, if it is the same person, then I did, towards the end of Feb). I wonder if it will be returned to me.
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