I have to admit that, as a general statement, the U.S. Postal Service does an extraordinary job considering the size of the organization. That said, I cannot see why Postal Service returned the letter that I sent to the Johnston County Board of Elections in Smithfield. The Postal Service canceled my postage and sent my letter back as “Not deliverable as addressed — Unable to forward.”

I had looked up the address in the phone book and sent it to 205 Second Street. You might notice that I failed to place whether it was south or north Second Street. That is entirely my fault. However, whether it was north or south, it was a maximum of only four blocks’ difference.

The post office has many employees, most but obviously not all fairly smart. The post office also has huge resources at its disposal. So I, of limited intelligence and few resources, set out to do what was an insurmountable job for the post office. I left Kenly not having any idea where Second Street was in Smithfield, but guessing it was near the county courthouse, I soon found it. Within only a couple of minutes, I found the Board of Elections building. It is on South Second Street; it has a very prominent sign in front of it. They are not hiding from anyone, and I would bet the Smithfield Post Office knows exactly where it is.

I hand-delivered my letter and asked the nice lady to look at the address and tell me why the Post Office could not have delivered it. She said the elections office used a P.O. box. I then asked her if she knew if a mailman walked a route by the building. She said yes; that the mailman delivered next door. I thanked her and left.

Surely, someone at the Smithfield Post Office knows the P.O. box number of the Board of Elections. The post office assigned the number. If the letter had been given to the letter carrier, it is only about a 15-foot trip to the front counter from his regular walking route.

I am sure the postmaster can give me at least 25 reasons why my letter was not delivered, but I can give the post office one very good reason why it should have delivered the letter: That is the business the post office is in.

As a result of this, I intend to deliver my own mail whenever I can and use the post office as little as possible. (And thank you for the savings, USPS). It is no wonder more and more people are interested in using e-mail.

R.E. SPENCER
Richardson-Bass Road, Kenly