A blue US Postal Service mailbox had to be removed from a shopping center near my home. Last year they had a standard US Postal Service mailbox there and it was convenient when we needed to mail something and didn't want to leave it in the mailbox at the house.
But someone began to mess with the mail inside the box and then vandalize the box trying to break it open. The Postal Service did an investigation and then replaced it with a more modern and more secure blue mailbox.
The new one had a narrower slot to insert mail in and it had chains to help deter people from trying to fish stuff out of the mailbox through the slot. It seemed pretty secure, but it was vandalized also. Rather than continue to offer the service the Postal Service pulled the box and removed it completely.
When I see the blue mailboxes at other places all I can think is that apparently some people are growing up without the training that messing with a post office mailbox is a felony with the federal government and if caught can lead to large fines and jail time.
I guess that's what happens when communities become made up or people with different priorities than upholding the law and being a fine, upstanding member of your community. Or the pervasive "no one's watching so I did it" mentality.
Or when a community becomes filled with transients because of all the apartments and rental homes.
It just makes me sad.
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