Help save our mail delivery!

Yesterday, the U.S. Postmaster General John E. Potter addressed a subcommittee of the U.S. Senate and asked to change the rules that require that the mail be delivered six days a week here, in order to save money. For details, click here.

I'm hoping that doesn't happen. The U.S. postal service has been a part of our country from the very beginning. In fact, Benjamin Franklin was appointed as the first Postmaster General by the Continental Congress in 1775. I think we need to hang on to this part of our country and to the "daily delivery" tradition.

According to "The United States Postal Service: An American History, 1775-2006," a booklet you can view or download at www.usps.gov (or www.usps.com), "Originally, letter carriers worked 52 weeks a year, typically 9 to 11 hours a day from Monday through Saturday, and if necessary, part of Sunday." Additionally, many homes received mail twice a day, and businesses had mail delivered up to four times a day.

So, six-day-a-week mail delivery has a long history in our country.

If you'd like to see U.S. Mail continue to be delivered six days a week, I think the first step is to contact the senators on the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security. That's who the postmaster general talked to yesterday. Those subcommittee members are Thomas R. Carper (chairman, D-Del), John McCain (R-Ariz), Carl Levin (D-Mich), Tom Coburn (R-Okla), Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii), George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio) and Jon Tester (D-Mont).

The subcommittee is part of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs. Other members of that committee are Joseph Lieberman (chairman, Conn), Susan M. Collins (Maine), Mark L. Pryor (Ark), John Ensign (Nev), Mary Landrieu (La), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Claire McCaskill (Mo), Roland Burris (Ill.) and Michael Bennett (Colo).

According to the committee's Web page, you can contact the members by mail at 340 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510. There also are phone numbers and fax numbers listed on the site. And, you can find links to all of the senators at the Senate Web site. It might be a good idea to also contact your senator and let him/her know how you feel about the situation.

You might also want to contact the postmaster general John "Jack" Potter at 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Washington DC 20260-0010. Or, you can send an e-mail to the USPS via this link.

Of course, one of the best ways to support the U.S. Postal Service is to write letters and mail them. Within the United States, it only costs 42 cents to mail a letter that weighs 1 ounce or less. That's several sheets of paper and an envelope. Forty-two cents. You can mail a letter from anywhere in the U.S. to anywhere else in the U.S. for less than the cost of a candy bar, less than a cup of coffee, less than almost anything. And, if you'd rather send a short note on a postcard, that costs just 27 cents! You can even send a 1-ounce or lighter letter anywhere in the world, from the U.S., for less than $1!

So, it's a good deal. And, we may lose part of the convenience of the deal if we no longer have daily (except for Sunday) delivery and pick-up of mail.

Let's do what we can to save our postal service!

Great day for U.S. -- great day for letter writing!

As I write this, CBS is airing schoolchildren reading aloud the letter that Barack Obama wrote to his daughters, Sasha and Malia. The letter can be read in-full at Parade Magazine's Web site.

What a great gift to his daughters! When you read the letter, you'll see that he discusses current events, as well as his own personal life and history, and what he expects and hopes for their future together. He gives them some guidelines for how he hopes that they'll lead their lives, and he tells them how proud he is of them.

I hope that parents all over the world will take a cue from the new U.S. President and write a letter to their own children. Write a letter; slip it under their pillow or drop it in the mailbox so they'll get a wonderful envelope to open! Share yourself with your children in a way that they will be able to cherish forever.

Other letters that were mentioned in the news today include the letter that outgoing President Bush wrote to incoming President Obama and the letter that Bush's daughters, Barbara and Jenna wrote to Obama's daughters with advice about being the daughters of the president. They offered advice about friends, puppies and sliding down the banister in the White House.

How wonderful that letter writing has taken such a spotlight on this historic day!

So much to write about today!

Those letters that my grandparents exchanged 70 years ago....they offer not only a peek at their love for one another but also a glimpse of everyday life in 1939-1940.

Granny told Grandpa about who came to visit, which of her sisters she was fighting with, what chores she was doing, what clothes she was making, the types of entertainment they found interesting, etc. Grandpa wrote back, telling of visiting his cousin, looking for work, riding in rodeos and more.

In today's world, more specifically today and tomorrow in the United States, we have so much to write about! Write a letter to someone you know, talking about your thoughts on the political events of the day, offer up your feelings about the economy, discuss your favorite movie. Make it specific! Tell all about your life, your job, your home, your fun.

Then, put the letter in the mail! Maybe you'll get an answer in the return mail!