Goofy Stuff In The Mail

A newspaper, particularly one the size of The Beaumont Enterprise, receives a tremendous amount of mail.
Hundreds of letters, packages, news releases, boxes and whatnot pour into the newsroom weekly. Some of it is useful. Most of it is not. But we look at every bit of it to make sure we're not missing an important meeting or event.
I get lots of letters, at least three a week, from prison inmates, claiming their innocence, complaining about prison life or just penning bizarre thoughts. One frequent inmate writer claims the prison is using some kind of machine to alter his thoughts and force him to do naughty things behind bars.
Occasionally, we'll follow up on an inmate letter, asking investigators about a case, but in every instance so far, the person appears to be overwhelmingly guilty. The letter then goes right into the trash.
A quick look at today's mail reveals the usual oddities.
I got a postcard from California promoting National Punctuation Day. However, the day of celebration was supposed to be Sept. 24, almost three weeks ago. Perhaps they should focus more on punctual than punctuation. Or maybe proper punctuation should be a year-round thing.
Not one but three invitations to the grand re-opening of a local hotel found their way into my mail inbox. One of the invitations was addressed to me. A second was addressed to a reporter who left the paper years ago, and the third was addressed to an editor who passed away years ago.
This kind of bombardment underscores how much paper - and money - gets wasted on a daily basis.
I also received a big package from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Included was some kind of magazine with a lot of thickly worded stuff that I'm not going to bother to read. I'm certain other editors out there won't give it a thorough read, either.
Other inbox items included: a flyer from the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, a quarterly from the College of the Ozarks, a slick magazine from Tyler Junior College, a news release from The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers and something from the Equity Center in Austin.
Not one of those things had any kind of local tie, as far as I could tell. Considering the cost of print and postage, why did they even bother?
I did receive two useful items: a board meeting agenda for the Jefferson County Drainage District No. 6 and an NAACP news release touting a national plan to reduce high school dropouts.
The drainage district agenda might have an item regarding two things people care about around here: property taxes and drainage. As for the latter, it gave me a story idea about high school dropouts.
So two things out of the 2-inch-thick stack of mail panned out.
If nothing else, the mail has a better batting average than my e-mail inbox, unless you count correspondence regarding African money scams, mindless politicking and medical miracles that can enhance certain body parts.