I love getting mail, but the envelope that I just pulled out of my condominium’s mailbox fills me with frustration instead of joy. I sigh as I lock my mailbox and head toward the elevator. This is the fourth envelope that I’ve received this week like this.
Some annoyances are temporary in nature. Their effect on our lives is fleeting, and we quickly dismiss them and move on. Others begin as seemingly minor affronts to our good mood. Repeated over time, their cumulative effect compounds to create a more lasting effect. This envelope symbolizes the latter. My frustration stems from the fact that it is not addressed to me but to a former tenant of my apartment. And I’ve lived here for six months.
This post is directed toward Geoffrey Mountbatten, formerly of Australia. That is not his real name, of course. My annoyance with Mssr. Mountbatten has not moved me to violate his privacy in a public forum.
At last count, I’ve moved at least seventeen times in my life. Moving so frequently gives me sympathy for misdirected mail. Though it is possible to leave a forwarding address, it may not catch all letters. I understand that the initial month or so in a new apartment might include re-directing letters addressed to a former tenant. What I don’t understand is how this can continue for six months on an almost daily basis.
To be clear, these are not mass mailing. They are not addressed to Geoffrey or Current Resident. They appear to be bank statements, notices from a college, etc. I say appear to be because I have not opened a single letter. My response to each has been to scrawl a terse message on the front, “return to sender, addressee unknown,” and drop it back in the mail.
I thought that this patient repetition on my part would cause these misdirected missives to cease after a short time. It has not. Given the time that this apartment sat vacant before I arrived, it’s been almost a year since the Mountbattens called this place home. Geoffrey, in the unlikely event that you are reading this, please transmit the particulars of your new residence to any and all corporations, banks, and official institutions with which you regularly correspond. Thank you.