I sent the toaster by the U.S.P.S., which is open on Saturdays. UPS is not. And it was cheaper than UPS. I still think thirty-seven cents to get a letter across the country or even across town is a damned good deal. Rarely has my mail been lost and rarely have I gotten others' mail. Sure, once in a while, but I'd say the percentage is very low. Our postal service is a lot more reliable than that of many other countries and less susceptible to theft. While I was in Italy years ago a postman was arrested for having stored all the mail he was supposed to be delivering in some basement. Piles and piles of mail from many months or years. Not uncommon. People told me that you never knew if anything you sent would get to its recipient, that mail was notoriously slow and workers crooked.

So I really don't have any complaints about our service and I say up the price. It's still a hell of a lot cheaper than a lot of other things we are forced to pay for.

It's rare for me to say Go America!, frankly. This is one of those times. I hope in time I'll be able to say YES to Amtrak as well. But I think a lot more vision is needed in that department and a lot of subsidies. It's the most fuel-efficient way to travel and we should put our collective money there to make it work and work all over the country.