Date: 2003-08-25
From: Glencliff, NH

To: Glencliff, NH
Miles today: 0.0

We are staying at the Hiker's Welcome Hostel. It is night and I am lying on my bunk listening to guitar outside and it is really nice. Today was maildrop pick up day for me which is very exciting. But we need to investigate the other side of maildrops, Jan's aka maildrop master's side. She wrote up how it is before I get these wonder boxes.Take it away Jan. . .Every time I go to the P. O., it seems like I get the same woman to help me,and she always has the same comment upon seeing the "General Delivery"address:"This must be a SMALL place! REALLY small!"I have told her about the trail and you several times and that I am sendingfood to you, but she never remembers me. I know she sees a lot of peopleevery day, but REALLY! I remember HER! Ha ha. (Actually, I try not to say"food" because then comes the barrage of questions about the contents beingbreakable, perishable, etc.; I figure, the less they know, the better!)Here are my (humorous) Top Ten Post Office/Mail Drop/Packing Pet Peeves:10. Waking up in a cold sweat at 6 a.m., trying to remember what day itis, where on the trail you are, and if there is food to send today.9. Adding bagels to each mail drop. (It seems I'm always buying them,but I never have any when it's time to pack the box.)8. Those stupid padded mailers you use when you don't have anythingbreakable to send. Opening them sends a shower of asbestos-looking recycledpaper particles all over me and my couch that only three sheets of the lintroller will pick up! (I curse you while I roll.)7. Actually packing the boxes, fretting over whether or not the box haseverything you need, and trying to decide if I should pack the empty spacewith bubble wrap or just leave it alone. (SEE NOTE BELOW!)6. Calling Craig's(my brother) house (a/k/a "the storehouse") in a tizzy because I need to "resupply" like NOW!5. Getting almost as much stuff BACK from you as I send out, ha ha! Ihave more of your shoes, letters, socks, shorts, and gear than I startedwith, and you have less! (I hope I can keep up with it all.) Speaking ofwhich number four is:4. Keeping up with it all. I know it's all you think about, but I haveto re-orient my mind each time the calendar says "Mail Drop", and I alwayspray I won't leave anything out or lose something (like the all-importantrain pants I still can't find!)3. "Express" (next day) mail, when sent to the trail, is really"Priority" (2-3 day) mail; "Priority" mail is really "regular" (parcel post)mail; and parcel post mail is like sending something to Africa.2. In Houston, they tell ME it will take "6 days" for you to receive apackage, but on the trail they tell YOU 8-10 days, and we can't even be sureof THAT!AND MY NUMBER ONE POST OFFICE/MAIL DROP/PACKING PET PEEVE IS..1. Running out of packing tape when the box is only half sealed up! (I especially hate that run-out-of-tape-and-have-the-roll-stick-and-tear-the-cardboard sound! It's like fingernails on a chalkboard.)Note to anyone reading this OTHER THAN Cindy herself:You may know that Cindy has spent about 16 YEARS dreaming of and at leastsix MONTHS planning for this trip. You may also know that she engaged hermother, her brother, and me as support crew, threw a fundraising party,rented a car to drive (four days, one-way) to the trail, and bought whoknows how many THOUSANDS of dollars worth of gear, food, and clothing, butI'll bet what you DON'T know is that the place she chose to SAVE FIVE LOUSYBUCKS WAS ON THE MAIL DROP BOXES, SO SHE BOUGHT ONES THAT ARE WAY TOO BIGFOR THE TASK!As Assistant Executive Vice President in Charge of Mail Drops, my onlyconsolation is thinking that other hikers are SURELY LAUGHING at her (newtrail name, "Big Box") when she goes to get them.August 17, 2003Jan.Sooo folks that is the other side, a big ole' gracias to the maildrop master and everyone else who has mailed me something to get me down the trail!!!Onward!