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PBY-5 Found! Post Office Made It An Experience....Not!!!


ipmsusa2

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Thanks to Gil,  I have received the Academy 1/72nd PBY-5 that I had an urgent need for.  But we had a heckuva time getting it from Florida to Texas.  Everything went smoothly until I checked the tracking info yesterday to see if the package was getting close.  Incidentally, this was shortly after I shipped a kit and a couple of my CDs to Gil in trade.  That's when the fun began.  Rather than maintain the suspense any longer, the following is a blow by blow account then ensued, starting about 9:00 a.m. today (Nov 23).

"Finally got the PBY in, but getting it the last few miles to me was an experience.
 
First: Called the76177 station which is some twenty miles from me. Learned it wasn't there but had been sent to the 76111 station,  which is some twenty miles in a different direction from 76177 and about ten miles or so from me. . 
 
Second: Called the 76111 station.  Package was there.  They agreed to hold it for pickup.  Wife had a doctor's appointment, so arived at the 76111 station afterwards.  They searched the station, both physically and on the computer.  Couldn't find it. I left emptyhanded but they had my phone number.
 
Third: Went to McDonald's, then home, which was about four miles.  Halfway home, cell phone rang while driving.  They hung up before I could pull over and answer.  Called their number...three times in a row.  No answer.  In fact their phone hung up after a number of rings...many rings.
 
Fourth:  Had to decide whether to go home and eventually get them to answer since I didn't know if they were going to tell me package was still lost, returned to you, redirected to the 76117 station or had it and I could pick it up. Decisions, decisions.
 
Fifth:  Decided to bite the bullet, turned around and returned to the 76111 station.
 
Sixth:  Walked in to the station and they knew why I was there.  Not only were they delighted, they actually had the box in their hand and very anxious to give it to me.  Heck, they almost forgot to scan the postal code to show it had been delivered!
 
Seventh: Got the box home, looked on the label and discovered that you didn't make a mistake.  Your address label shows the zip to be 76117.  In spite of that, It still ended up at 76177,  Why apparently no one...machine or human...could read a simple five digit zip code?  Darned if I know, but a comment from my wife may hold more truth than anyone suspects: "It (the box) wanted to see the world before it was delivered".
 
Gil's response to the Catalina Saga? 
 
"wasn't it Shakespeare who said "all's well that ends well"?"
 
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This episode underlines the importance of an affectation I acquired in college: crossing the middle of the upward stroke of the seven with a short horizontal line, as is done on the U.K. and Europe. It clearly distinguishes a seven from a one. Nick

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Point taken, Nick.  But in this case it would've confused the P.O. machines worse.  They would've had to recognize the normal !, then understood that the first 7 next to it...with a horizontal bar...was actually a 1 while the next 7 without a bar was truly a 7.  I think you would agree that the machine's education would have been lacking in any case.  Of course, the true cause of this fiasco would lie in the skill...or lack of same...of the human that programmed the machine in the first place.  Richard.

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"wasn't it Shakespeare who said "all's well that ends well"?"  😀
 
Didn't mean it to sound as Cavalier as it does......was just trying to convey how glad I was it wasn't being returned all the way back to me, seeing as how he needed it asap!
 
GIL :cool:
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