The Aerie
Okay, so more about the trip next time - if I blog the whole thing at the pace of the last entry, I'll still be talking about this trip after my next trip.
Okay, so last January I lost my wallet - left it in a locker at the gym. Went back, not there, cancelled cards, replaced everything, etc. No big deal, no evidence of card fraud or anything, thought nothing of it afterwards.
Last week I get a letter in the mail.
The manila yellow letter was addressed to me, no return address, and contained 1) my driver's license, 2) my clipped, expired driver's license, and 3) my gym membership card.
Huh?
What gives here? I mean, eight months later, wouldn't I have replaced all these cards? What is somebody doing?
Interestingly enough, while the letter bore no return address it did have one notable characteristic. It was sent with metered postage.
So I went to the post office today and asked if the code on the postage meter could lead me back to the organization which sent the letter. Oh indeed it could! After a short wait the very helpful fellow at the post office dropped a printout in front of me with the name and address of the sending organization.
Then he got called over by his supervisor. Apparently he could tell me the name, but not the address. I assured him that I had not had the time to memorize "155 W. Franklin Ave." and that I had even now forgotten it. I felt bad that he had gotten in trouble for helping me, but hey, I didn't make him drop the printout in front of me.
I then set out for the organization from which this letter had been sent: the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches.
On my way over I mulled the possibilities. It seemed to me that the most likely culprit would be the very receptionist to whom I would speak when I entered. After all, who has access to the postage meter? In many organizations, that is limited to receptionist who handles the mail.
I arrived began stating that someone at the council had sent me an important letter but not signed it, and could the receptionist recognize the handwriting. No. Of course, if the receptionist was the anonymous mailer, seeing the envelope again would have undoubtedly put her into defensive mode. So I explained the situation with my wallet to the receptionist, who said that everyone had access to the postage meter. She offered to make a copy of the letter and post it on the company bulletin board with a request for an explanation.
Now, this was about as far as I figured I'd get anyway, but I liked the idea of the bulletin board. If the receptionist was the mailer (and her handwriting on various notes on her desk was not dissimilar), I had already gotten as much out of this as I could expect. If she was NOT the mailer, then posting the photocopy of the envelope in the break room was likely to put a good startle into the day of someone at the organization.
I agreed and left her my card along with a copy of the letter. I don't expect to hear anything, but who knows.
Maybe I'll get an envelope in the mail in a couple of days.
Posted by Albatross at August 25, 2005 1:00 AM | TrackBack