Mail

When I was young, many companies offered free merchandise if you sent in a specific number of box tops or seals with a “small fee for postage and handling.” After eating many boxes of the same cereal, Mom would be presented with a stack of box tops and I would beg for a check to cover postage and handling so I could have my very own cereal bowl with the cereal logo on it. Of course, Mom would comply and even help find a big envelope, address it, fill out the order form and buy a bunch of stamps to send it off. Every day after that I would check the mail for my very own cereal bowl. Finally, my prize arrived and if I dig through the closets, I am sure I still have it.

Every year at Christmas and on my birthday a greeting card would arrive from my grandparents who lived far away. Along with the card would be a crisp dollar bill (later replaced with a check.) Of course, this card required a thank you card including what I intended to buy with my newly acquired riches. The would be sent off with stamps provided by Mom. Now that I am that far distant relative, I am the one initialing the process. My thank you notes are tucked away in a box in the closet. When my grandparents moved from their home, their box of thank you notes was discovered in a closet. I am sure my thank you box will be discovered among my prized possessions. Maybe my cereal bowl will be there too.