[Milsurplus] Coconut ( Way OT, OK? )

[Hue Miller]

I worked at the USPS a couple times in the 1970s. In those years, employment 
and
turnover was much greater than now. If you were reasonably smart, say you 
ran
out of college money: you could take the Post Office test and get on the 
rolls, and
likely you'd have a good paying job in 3 months or less. Save up some money, 
quit,
repeat as needed.

One of the funniest things I saw was a letter with a handpainted postage 
stamp,
an actual miniature landscape with the appropriate postage indicators.

I was also there one night when a would-be scam fell down. Seems someone had
bought some jewelry by mail; then advised the selling jeweler that they were
unhappy with the item and were returning it separately , for credit. Only 
instead
of a jewelry piece in the small box, they had packaged a mouse. Theory being
the mouse would chew its way out during the trip; package would arrive 
obviously
damaged and open and sender would claim item was lost or stolen in the 
mails.
Someone's insurance would pick up the loss. I was at work one boring long
Saturday night, a woman was removing packages from one of those large
wheeled hampers when she suddenly shrieked. The mouse had chewed out
of its box just then, but couldn't escape the tall hamper. Postal inspectors 
thus
had all the evidence right there and were able to put two and two together.

I also remember cakes sent to servicemen in 'Nam and forwarded a time
or three due to the person's being moved to other bases. Each time the
parcel was forwarded, it seems it had to come back to APO/ FPO Seattle
first. Some of these cakes after several trips looked really, really bad, no
animal but a crow  would recognize it as food. Often the unwholesome mess
was seasoned with an accompanying gift item, such as a camera,  stirred
into it. It looked godawful ugly, but we were forbidden to just throw 
anything
out, so the ugly stew was just wrapped in plastic bags and sent on again.
Some gift!
-Hue Miller