There really was a name and address on here. I just thought it prudent to redact them. I’m like Homeland Security, only smaller.

We often have issues with our mail. Several times each week we receive mail that is not for us. Typically it is for someone in our town who lives at an address that looks similar to ours. 220 Maple Hill Road is similar to 220 Chittenden Road. I guess.

So we put those letters back in the mailbox and flip up the flag. Sometimes I write a note indicating that it was delivered to the wrong address. Just to communicate to whoever might receive it in the end. We have gotten a few pieces of mail with notes on them indicating that they had been delivered to someone else’s address. So it works both ways. I guess.

A few days ago we got our bill from our “plow guy,” the guy who comes to clear our driveway when it snows. At the same time we got a bill from the same plow guy for someone else, but addressed to us. It was not delivered to the wrong address; the wrong address was written for a different customer. So we got it. Simple mistake.

Right away I wrote on the envelope and left it in the mail box. Return to sender. At least that was the idea. But the next day it came back, despite the note. So I wrote on it again and put it back in the mail box. Hopefully it won’t come back to us a second time. If so, I will mail it inside another envelope to the plow guy. He needs to get paid, after all.

I think the U.S. Postal Service is one of the greatest institutions in our nation. I can send something to anyone else and it will get delivered, for a really small price. Eventually. And sometimes with a little encouragement. When tax documents and bills and other important documents get delivered to the wrong address on a regular basis, however, I do begin to wonder about who is handling things at the sorting bin.

My note to return a mis-labeled bill apparently wasn’t clear enough the first time. I guess. Bad weather won’t stop the mail getting through, just bad handwriting.

UPDATE 3/24/2014: This letter got returned yet again yesterday. That is just not right, I tell you, just not right.