New Mailbox Nears Completion

The mailbox recovery program has moved  along.  Astonishingly rapid progress has been made.  

I don't remember how the mailbox ever arrived when it was first put up.  I remember it was somehow put on the opposite side of the road and the Post Office ordered us to move it across the street.   

I really thought that was the end of the mailbox journey and I would have a mailbox indefinitely.  It was not to be.  

Since I was not involved in erecting the mailbox in the first place, I was not aware of the difficulties one faces making them happen.  

The old mailbox was hauled away on Monday and a new mailbox bought at Walmart with the stickers you need for your address.  

Fine.  The post was a wreck.  The area is so shady it was covered in algae and damaged some in places from cracks and the start of decay.  Well, might as well clean it up.  

Yesterday I sanded the whole post with sandpaper and then took a gallon jug of Clorox/water and scrubbed it with that.  It looked much better.  It was ready for paint as soon as it dried overnight, which I thought would keep it in good shape for a while.  

Sanding didn't seem easy.  I had planned to hire someone to sand it and paint it, but the man that was going to do that somehow was too injured and wouldn't be able to help.  Oh no.  So I got the sanding done.  That took me most of the afternoon yesterday.  Yuck.  That's no fun.  

Surely help was on its way today.  Nope.  Oh no!!  So I got some dark green paint with algaecide in it and painted it.  Then I waited for it to dry and gave it a second coat.  Oh it looked pretty.  Christmasy.  

I was exhausted but I was content in the knowledge that mine was the most beautiful mailbox in the neighborhood jungle.  I really couldn't believe how much work it was to paint the mailbox post.  

I drove away and looked at the neighbor's mailboxes as I left.  Oh, they were grim, almost shabby old things.  Boring grey metal boxes on posts that looked like black fence posts.  Then my post, and the soon to be crown of a beautiful new mailbox.  The joy of Christmas.  Ho ho ho. Was the post not quite straight?  I didn't care.  It was beautiful.  

I drove down the road and just before I passed the fire department my heart stopped.  What was this?  Why hadn't I noticed this before?  Competition with my glorious mailbox.  On my right was a lovely home, a newer home, white, with a stunning red metal roof.  And?  On my left a brand new white mailbox with a nice perfect address and and......  a gorgeous red newly painted post.  It was as pretty as pretty could be.  

Well, I comforted myself that I was in an elite club of those with Christmasy mailboxes in the neighborhood and hopefully the other neighbors will come up to speed and do something about their frumpy mailboxes cluttering the road.  Maybe I should put notes in their mailboxes.  

Maybe I'll discretely include images of mailboxes that would improve the local drive down the road, rather than the embarrassment that is.   Anonymously.