My neighbor, Irene, reported me to the HOA over my Halloween decorations—plastic skeletons and cobwebs. Less than a day later, she was at my door begging for help. Why the change of heart? You’ll see!
I’m Wendy, a retired schoolteacher and grandma, and apparently, public enemy number one in our neighborhood.
“Wendy! What are you doing?” Irene yelled, hands on hips, when she spotted me decorating.
“It’s Halloween, Irene! Same as I’ve done for 30 years.”
“But it’s so… GARISH!” she exclaimed.
I chuckled. “It’s supposed to be a little garish.”
A week later, I received an HOA letter about my decorations. Guess who complained? I called the HOA, and they said I had to remove my decor in 48 hours or face a fine. Not happening!
Do You Recognize This Old-School Communication Tool?
Times are changing and it seems as if the more we progress, the faster they change. The one thing that hasn’t changed is our need to communicate but the way we communicate has adjusted over the years.
Many of us can probably look back and remember the time when we were tethered to the wall when we wanted to talk to someone on the phone. We wrote letters and put them in the mail and if somebody wasn’t home, we couldn’t talk to them at that moment.
These days, we communicate by sending text messages or messages over social media. We have video calls and if we can get in touch with somebody, it quickly gets on our nerves.
There have also been a number of innovations over the years that were brilliant in their time but these days, they are not used very often. That is especially true in the day when we used to use the Postal Service to deliver letters and packages on a regular basis.
One of the most important things to consider when delivering a letter or package was the weight. It would make a difference in the shipping rate, and that is where this unique invention, the postal scale, comes into play.
Long before we were sending emails and text messages, we were delivering things through the Postal Service. Analog mechanisms that included balances and springs were used to determine how much we would pay in postage. It wasn’t an exact science, but it was close enough.
Postal scales still exist today but they are much more advanced. They are precise instruments that have advanced features and it makes it much less personal when it comes to getting service at the post office.
Aside from the fact that the older postal scales were not 100% accurate, the design and nostalgia are something to consider. These are more than an item that used to weigh the letters we sent, they are collector’s items and some enthusiasts will pay big money for them.
So if you ever see a vintage postal scale, stop to ponder over what it may have done in its lifetime. It’s an item we don’t use as much anymore, but it is an item from time that we should forget.
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