Pony Express

I went to the Post Office yesterday to mail a package to my granddaughter for Valentine's Day. There were 7 days to go, so I thought I had plenty of time. I told the young lady to post it the normal (cheapest) way. She said it would get there by Friday, the 15th....(8 days) She then explained to me that recently the USPS has had all packages mailed from Lincoln, NE routed first to Des Moines,Iowa then on to it's destination. Des Moines is 188 miles to the East of Lincoln, NE. So my pkg goes 188 miles to the east before it can then redirect and go to Tacoma, Wa. She also told me that all letters mailed from Lincoln, Ne first go to Omaha and then on to their final destination. So all mail goes east first from Lincoln, even if it is actually destined for places West.

The Pony Express made it from St. Joseph, Mo to Sacramento, CA in about 10 days normally. The record was 7 days! 7 days...does that ring a bell? 8 days for my package to get to Tacoma, WA from Lincoln, Ne by 2013 mail, 7 days for the Pony Express to get mail from Mo to Ca. I really understand now why the USPS is in such financial difficulty. They're still using horses! So I paid for the quicker delivery and Maybe they will actually put it on a plane and a truck.