Sooner or Later…

Emergency services - people waiting to run to the rescue when things go wrong.

House fire = fire department

Thieves = police

Heart Attack = ambulance

Earth quake  = Red Cross or FEMA

Right?

Maybe not…Not exactly…

Did you know that the USPS (US postal service) has up-graded to seven regional computers (or regional systems) that sort & direct the mail to the appropriate receiver. If the address is incorrect by so much as a directional letter–say a SE First instead of an E First then the letter is sent back to the sender as “address unknow” (or some such message) before it leaves the town where it was mailed. Technically it is the Norths that *must* put their letter in the address line, south can take or leave according to the new program. No more kindly mailman who knows the town and can deliver to Grandma anyway.

How do I know this? Well the post office and I have been playing “find the correct address” for well over a year. At first we were plain direction West. Then we became SW. Now we are back to plain West. The mail lady is as frustrated as I. The pediatric dentist has given up on mailing bills as “the address does not exist” either way. We are still waiting for the financial aid papers from Arkansas Children’s Hospital. But the mess is even bigger…

As we discussed our latest new address the post-lady began to tell me about the county emergency services meeting that a representative from the local post office was required to attend. The speaker was federal level there to discuss…emergency sevices. And addresses. And discovered that a whole section of our town does not exist in their data base.

Huh?

Remember those new computers? And the picky address situation? It seems that our town has Six variations on one street name. Pick a number - that is the street name. Add directions from the compass: NW, NE, SW, SE and the rest of the letter mess confuses me too.

However, whoever is in charge of setting up the emergency data base decided that using the USPS address system would be the best & easiest way to get everyone. I wonder about those with PO address, but I digress… 

For once this is NOT the post office’s fault. The street names are decided by the city council and changes must come from the city council. The city council that doesn’t want to make people angry by changing their addresses when nothing physically has changed. The city council members are listed in the phone book and do not think that Malox is a tasty after dinner drink. They would like the post office to change the addresses….but they can’t….they don’t make the addresses, they just enter them into the computer…(and somewhere 911 is involved as we called to confirm my address…)

How important is that? If the New Madrid fault were to decide to dance the Macarena as forcefully as the 1811-1812 our town would be in the 7/8 destruction zone.  8 and above is total destruction. Not a surprise for quakes that were felt from Canada to New Orleans, ringing church bells in Boston & cracking sidewalks in DC.

The emergency services worker explained that an entire section of the city doesn’t exist. That section will not get searched. There will not be supplies or help sent for those people. Try to get a bottle of water, or cot, or FEMA loan. Too Bad, So Sad…

There were only a few people at this meeting and no mention of this important fact in the local paper. I know because I was griping trying to insure we continued to get our mortgage statement & other bills so the post-lady kindly explained the complicated street situation name blame game. 

An entire city section does not exist…in how many other places? 

FEMA wants us to be prepared…up from 3 days to 2 weeks or more…guess it’s to give us time to dig our ownselves out.

Anyone surprised?