Yes, and it makes me wonder how many other pieces of mail have similar stories to tell. It actually arrived in its own original envelope, rather than inside a larger one. The envelopes are Tyvek and quite sturdy, with those self-stick flaps that can be restuck after peeling them open. The surprised recipients had opened it added their note, and resealed it, adding a piece of tape over the flap, and dropped it back into the mail or handed it to their letter carrier. The US postage on it was still valid from Juneau back to Illinois, so here it is.
I have had mail go astray because someone mistyped the barcode that represents the zip before, but this is the first time it went so far and still managed to get back.
Actually, I think of H. C. Hollings' award-winning children's book of lo these many years ago, Paddle-to-the-Sea. It tells the story of a little carved and painted canoe with an Indian in it, set in a snowbank in Canada to slide into Lake Superior when the snow melts. The inscription on the bottom said "Please put me back into the water. I am Paddle-to-the-Sea." After many years and many experiences, the little carving arrived on the coast of France, and the path was reconstructed when the story hit the news media, telling how many people had handled the figure and finally set it back on its way. Hollings turned it into an educational tale of all the things the carving passed on its way, but the underlying story was apparently a true one.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2006-01-18 03:28 pm (UTC)I have had mail go astray because someone mistyped the barcode that represents the zip before, but this is the first time it went so far and still managed to get back.
Actually, I think of H. C. Hollings' award-winning children's book of lo these many years ago, Paddle-to-the-Sea. It tells the story of a little carved and painted canoe with an Indian in it, set in a snowbank in Canada to slide into Lake Superior when the snow melts. The inscription on the bottom said "Please put me back into the water. I am Paddle-to-the-Sea." After many years and many experiences, the little carving arrived on the coast of France, and the path was reconstructed when the story hit the news media, telling how many people had handled the figure and finally set it back on its way. Hollings turned it into an educational tale of all the things the carving passed on its way, but the underlying story was apparently a true one.