No USPS deliveries for a week

Submitted by rchhe t3_118j82g in vermont

I live in Essex and my mail is not being delivered. The last time I got any mail was last Wednesday. I know that there are staffing challenges, which I completely understand and sympathize- but this is beyond ridiculous. I don't always have the time to go to the post office to pick up mail as I have to work. I am tying to contact Peter Welch's office. Does anybody have any insights or suggestions?

Update: I received this response from somebody at Peter Welch's office. If this helps anybody in the future

Thank you for reaching out to Senator Welch’s office regarding the mail delays you’re facing in Essex. As you may be aware, we have received many calls and emails regarding the issues at this post office.

The congressional delegation has been in communication with USPS regarding mail delivery concerns and we continue to bring concerns to their attention and do everything we can to help. The congressional delegation also recently sent a letter to the Postal Board of Governors and to Postmaster General (PMG) DeJoy regarding the state of the Postal Service in Vermont.

Regarding your concerns with the DMV Registration Renewal you’re expecting in the mail. To cover your bases I would follow the DMV’s guidance here and fill out their General Information Form to let them know you have not received the document you requested in the mail. Link Here

I am going to make a congressional inquiry regarding your concerns to the USPS Northern New England Office in Portland, Maine. They have jurisdiction over mail delivery services and post offices in Vermont and they are usually very responsive when we reach out to flag issues like this. Thank you again for contacting our office, and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have additional concerns or questions.

Update 2: I got a second email with specifics about my route and why deliveries were not happening. The route was being handled by a contract worker- but they have now decided to change the route to a "rural route"- which means that they will use somebody from USPS to deliver mail as compared to a contractor. So, contacting Peter Welch's office helped. I got a specific message about my route, I got a way to handle my situation, and they contacted the postmaster directly.

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sorrycharlie88 t1_j9hhg5j wrote

As a postal employee it drives me bananas that the single most common response by everyone who complains is that they contact the senators. They can't do anything about our staffing shortages, they can't magically make people start applying for the job, they can't hire or employ the national guard to deliver mail.

It's like contacting the regional manager of McDonald's to complain about the missing fries in your burger King order.

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March-Neat t1_j9ho8bm wrote

i call wendys if Mcdonalds shorts me even one fry.

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bond___vagabond t1_j9jms8n wrote

I mean, who you gonna call? If McDonald's shorted you a fry, it's not like they care about your fries. But you call the competition, they can use that to better defeat McDonald's on the battlefield of ideas. That's not weird, that's just capitalism, lol.

P.s., it's so weird that the politicians most violently pro-capitalist, just can't seem to fathom that if no one is applying for a job, it means the job is being offered at too little pay, not that "no one wants to work" lol. What if wages on open job positions had to slowly increase till the job filled? It's almost like they want the people in these jobs to subsidize these jobs that are obviously being offered to the market, at sub market pay rates. But it couldn't be that, cause that sounds kinda commy to me, lol.

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deadowl t1_j9kimyi wrote

My mom briefly worked as a postmaster. She left because they wanted her to start going to distribution centers and stuff and she just wanted to run the tiny little post office a few miles down the street from where she lived.

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1010lala1010lala t1_j9hknau wrote

I think it's more like contacting the corporate offices of McDonald's about the missing fries. Yeah, they're not going to get involved over a single order, but if there are persistent problems with the delivery of fries in a given area, someone's going to investigate the issue.

In this case our reps can demand answers from Luis dejoy about why there have been persistent problems in parts of this state. If the problem is "not enough staff" then they can demand a plan for addressing the shortage. They can haul his butt before congress to testify. If needed they can sponsor legislation to increase funding for the post office. I'm sure there are other things they can do that I'm not aware of, what I do know is they are not powerless to affect change.

I also know that they won't do anything if they don't know about the problem in the first place.

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[deleted] t1_j9hkozn wrote

[deleted]

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sorrycharlie88 t1_j9hltmn wrote

Apply for a job or convince a friend to apply. Stop ordering Amazon.

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popquizmf t1_j9kixu4 wrote

Good answer, that's bound to sort it out.

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suzi-r t1_j9ibxdk wrote

First, try to dull the cutting edge of your rage and frustration. Cry, roar, punch your pillow, take a nice hot shower to relax you & ease your emotions. Then, with a low-key, gentle voice, call your local police station, being patient, since they are understaffed, too. Report that you have mailed the form and payment for registration renewal as of X date but not yet received it. If, from now on, you drive with care and attract no attention, you should be okay. You might even get to know your local boys/girls in blue, which can be a huge advantage. Let them know you’ve done all you can to update, but a snag has occurred elsewhere. You might even want to call the DMV and ask if they’d send a substitute, pro-tem paper that would show your legal ownership and updated status. If you can combine errands, make an appt. & drive to the DMV & pick it up. Just .try not to be angry since our whole society is in a rough patch right now.

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rchhe OP t1_j9jeuyy wrote

Thank you- made me chuckle. I still don't have my registrations and a tax form. Maybe they will show up sometime this week. If not, I will need to drive to the post office on Saturday to pick them up. I am not angry but frustrated.

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suzi-r t1_j9ki56v wrote

Hey, I’ll hope for the best for you! If you’re working/ caregiving/otherwise time-crunched, it can be infuriating when the once-reliable systems don’t work. My rural town has lost 2 village stores, and the café is now seasonal-only. Our local PO will be moving farther from us soon. Life these days is maddening! But we’ve gotta try to stay sane & strong & hope it improves. We’re lucky to be here & have what we have.

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suzi-r t1_j9kipik wrote

Oh, and did I mention? Somebody just crushed our newspaper tube. My dear ol dh may get it fixed before the newsgroup comes with a new one. They said it’ll be months! Hey, at least we gave big snow coming. Lotsa good exercise (shoveling) & hopefully less drought this year.

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fig3newton t1_j9j6lxd wrote

In my experience, it's exactly the thing to do. I once contacted Senator Sanders office about delivery in my town, and because of them received an explanation from the office of the person in charge of northern New England. Kind of impressive, actually. If the postal authorities aren't made aware of customer dissatisfaction they will operate as though there is none.

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sorrycharlie88 t1_j9jhr5c wrote

They are well aware of the dissatisfaction, believe it or not being contacted by a senator about poor service is (a weird) one of many ways customers file complaints. They are also aware of every single thing happening in office routes, are well aware of the shortages, and do their best to make current employees pick up the slack. As you can imagine, this pushes more employees out and the cycle continues.

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rescuespibbles t1_j9jj6mw wrote

Agreed, I have a friend who started last summer. 6 months of mandatory overtime and working 6 days a week have her looking elsewhere.

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21stCenturyJanes t1_j9hnyf8 wrote

Good point but Congress has been looking at the problems with USPS so I don't think it's totally out of line to talk to his office about problems happening in Vermont. But yeah, Peter Welch is not going to make your mail suddenly appear.

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sorrycharlie88 t1_j9jhw6i wrote

Yea they made a big step changing how we fund our retirement, they aren't going to fix people not applying for jobs.

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rchhe OP t1_j9hpja6 wrote

I understand- but the post office is directly under the federal government as far as I know. Hopefully they have answers on how to hire more people? Like better pay- maybe?

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sorrycharlie88 t1_j9htol4 wrote

Congress regulates our retail/service prices and not much more. The post office is forced to keep prices lower than competitors, but we operate only on revenue and zero taxes, and not allowed to make a profit. Best thing they could do would be to let the post office be competitive in the market if you want to see wages rise. Although they're pretty good, I'm only five years in and make 70k per year plus benefits and 5% matching for the gov equivalent of a 401k.

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Corey307 t1_j9ihr64 wrote

The Federal government has struggled with staffing for years, it’s not just the Postal Service. USPS, USCIS, CBP, BOP, BP and TSA all have staffing problems for a variety of reasons, the most common being starting pay and terrible hours. I’m sure there’s more administrations that are hurting these are just the ones that I know about. So it’s common to be forced to do mandatory overtime which most people don’t want to do and this leads to more people quitting which leads to more mandatory overtime.

Most people would prefer a 9-to-5 job even if it pays a little less and don’t want to work weekends or mandatory overtime. Plus the Postal Service is stuck delivering heavy packages now because of the prevalence of Amazon, they’re doing more work for the same pay. I know a few part time mail carriers and they also have to worry about crazy rural people pulling guns on them despite them obviously delivering mail and getting yelled at by people because “they aren’t working hard enough.”

Also the postal jeeps don’t have functional heaters or any AC so it’s a real shit job for 7 months out of the year. So unless you’re willing to work extra hours, give up your Saturday and drive around freezing or sweating through your shorts maybe understand why people don’t want to do this job. I don’t know about you but I don’t feel like driving an ancient, heavy rear wheel drive jeep with all seasons and no functional heater in winter.

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moosenblue t1_ja6hlx6 wrote

Fun fact: the LLV’s also don’t have airbags :)

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lottabigbluewater t1_j9hjhws wrote

We went three weeks with zero deliveries last year. It happens. It's an inconvenience but the postal staff work harder in one day than I do in a week, so I try not to get upset. They're doing the best they can.

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rchhe OP t1_j9hpdjz wrote

I am not disputing that- but I am getting my DMV registrations through mail. Sometimes, it is useful to get mail in time (or maybe I should say within a reasonable amount of time). I understand that there are not many people who are willing to work for the post office- but maybe a start is to paying more? Why are people not applying?

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sorrycharlie88 t1_j9hutcf wrote

I make 70k (and rising each year) at the post office and have great benefits. The pay isn't the problem, lots of jobs that start you off at even more than the po starts have the same problem finding help.

People love to complain about the jobs they have not paying a living wage instead of going to one that does. That requires leaving the comfort zone and learning a new skill or trade, not something the poor barista class seems to be interested in.

My office just hired the mid 20s age girl who worked for the cleaning company that cleans the office, we convinced her to apply because she was cool and she is kicking ass and making much more money now.

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Saguache t1_j9iqg9y wrote

Here is the job posting for your route.

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[deleted] t1_j9jlndg wrote

[removed]

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Saguache t1_j9jmi97 wrote

It would be cool to put pressure on the Administration to unseat DeJoy who has progressively dismantled and privatized USPS since being appointed by Trump. Sanders and Welch could spearhead that effort. These woes aren't the result of anything local, and in fact, are being experienced all over the country. Local postal hiring has slowed because the structure of postal compensation has been altered and reduced.

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TheTowerBard t1_j9k6bqk wrote

It would be cool, but the issues with DeJoy have been well known for a long time now and everyone is willfully ignoring it. MLK explained the dangers of moderates quite well in his Letter From Birmingham Jail. We need to stop expecting them to be something they are not and demand better.

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flipz4444 t1_j9k64a1 wrote

Lol, its OP's job to fill the position? WTF? You are something else.

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dmiller1980 t1_j9hzawl wrote

Yeah… I’m in chittenden county as well… I work too. Mail has not delivered every day. I went to the post office once to collect my mail because I knew they were behind and understand… my suggestion is chill out and find time to go to the post office for your mail… They will gladly give it to you.

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webbvt t1_j9i5tu1 wrote

It’s a staffing issue. Not much the Senator’s gonna do. I was in the Essex PO. The clerk told me that the postmaster was out delivering mail. Meanwhile, rude customers come in and cuss out the clerks. Be civil, people. Go to a local store. Stop buying mail order.

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canthaveme t1_j9hrwdk wrote

They're just short staffed. Not much they can do but work as much as they can and as an ex USPS worker, I can assure you, they're doing what they can

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whirlycroissant t1_j9hf0st wrote

Don't know how common it is but sometimes they don't deliver mail because they can't reach your mailbox (if there's a car parked too close, for example).

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Unique-Public-8594 t1_j9hfm14 wrote

but typically they leave a notice if that’s the case, no?

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whirlycroissant t1_j9hkgc1 wrote

I've had something marked "delivered" on Amazon but not in my mailbox. I had to call the post office and then they clarified that they actually were obstructed from delivering it (and for whatever reason put down the wrong status).

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Initial_Tip_4183 t1_j9hq63t wrote

Randolph is the same. They’re super understaffed

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bonanzapineapple t1_j9iela5 wrote

Yeah I think it's a problem in all of VT, NH and perhaps the entire country

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1010lala1010lala t1_j9hig5b wrote

https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-welch-balint-demand-answers-from-postal-service-leadership-on-postal-delays-in-hinesburg-and-across-vermont/

https://vtdigger.org/2023/02/17/vermonts-congressional-delegation-urges-top-us-postal-officials-to-address-statewide-mail-delays/amp/

Our representatives are aware of the problem. It doesn't hurt to continue contacting them about it to encourage them to stay on top of it.

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MarkVII88 t1_j9jsr2z wrote

USPS has been a hot mess over the past year. Actually seems worse now than during the height of the COVID pandemic. They are so short staffed that even a single person taking a single sick, or personal, day puts them hundreds of parcels and packages behind.

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ilagitamus t1_j9jvhl9 wrote

Not much state senators can do about people not applying for jobs

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OnionCityChives t1_j9k2slw wrote

I'm sure Peter Welch will get to the bottom of this!

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Sinko236 t1_j9jbr8a wrote

I’ve had a package “out for delivery” for the last two days. Definitely hoping there are some people out there who are right for the job that are currently considering applying. Have never looked into the benefits of the job, but hopefully it’s a sweet deal otherwise I don’t see anyone applying. Honestly, if I wasn’t already so invested in my own career path, I’d consider it.

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71802VT t1_j9jw3ah wrote

Mail delivery has sucked in Waitsfield for a while, too. Ridiculous might be the new normal.

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caro92609 t1_j9i8r5f wrote

Moretown here we get mail once a week. On a dirt road 6 or so miles outta town.

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MarkVII88 t1_j9jtp2i wrote

Honestly, I think anyone choosing to live in a very rural area, miles from the nearest paved road should expect to have very much less frequent mail delivery. I'm sure there are plenty of benefits to living out in the "boonies", but there are also costs. And I think getting mail only once/week is definitely one of them.

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Affectionate_Use5087 t1_j9jepup wrote

Shit, my USPS is hit or miss. Been living in the same place for 15 years and now all of a sudden they keep claiming that my front door isn't accessible (it is perfectly accessible). I've watched the driver pull up to the bottom of my lane, leave a notice, and then leave without even attempting to drive up. I've even given them specific instructions to leave my packages at the bottom of my lane if for whatever bs reason they claim they can't make it up. Amazon, UPS, and FedEx deliver just fine.

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ballofsnowyoperas t1_j9jtba4 wrote

Someone posted about this on the Essex fb page as well. They had some good answers over there.

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cpujockey t1_j9k3dh4 wrote

I understand your grief - but you sound super entitled.

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aprilmoonflower t1_j9kamyf wrote

This happens in Windham county too. Sometimes they just don’t have anyone to deliver.

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AgentElsewhere t1_j9kefj0 wrote

I had the same issue. Turns out someone stole my identity and was having all my mail rerouted. I will try to contact your post office and make sure a change of address hasn’t been put in under your name.

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Jessica_T t1_j9kvzva wrote

I didn't get mail for about a week because the normal driver was out for surgery, and then the substitute got COVID. I'd much rather they stay home and recover as well as not expose other people.

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Original_Krom t1_j9pdlg1 wrote

Call the Postmaster. I've had to do so on a few occasions in regards to utterly worthless service (ie...leaving mail in snow outside of a business). If you do not see an improvement, keep leveling up.

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Dry_Invite_8747 t1_j9w8jpj wrote

Thought it was just me I have been waiting for so much time sensitive mail. It just started to go back to normal in bits and pieces.

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RandolphCarter15 t1_j9j9xkx wrote

Update: this place is so toxic. I posted a suggestion on how to get help, based on my experience and people are criticizing me and down voting me? Next time I won't bother to help

When I had that issue I contacted Welch and it was fixed immediately. But may be different now that he's in the Senate. Try Balint

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rchhe OP t1_j9k4g7q wrote

Thank you. They said that a "case worker" will get back to me. They are aware of the issues and I am not the only one who called. I sympathize with everybody working at the post office- but this is not sustainable as mail is essential to our livelihoods. We need a solution.

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Smirkly t1_j9hov10 wrote

This is just about efficiency. Certainly money is saved when they only deliver once a week. Soon there will be increased efficiency when plan B introduces once a month delivery. I mostly get junk mail so I don't much care.

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Nutmegdog1959 t1_j9hmjhu wrote

There's a new invention...it's called email.

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k75ct t1_j9hneh8 wrote

So hard to email durable goods 🙄

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Nutmegdog1959 t1_j9hstpn wrote

That's what UPS is for. One less 'S' ten times better service.

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casewood123 t1_j9hsz8s wrote

Show me how to email prescriptions. Many insurance companies require that some medications be filled by specialty pharmacies that deliver by mail. I know because my daughter has to deal with it.

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Nutmegdog1959 t1_j9htas8 wrote

They're not delivered by mail, I assure you. They wouldn't arrive before expiration dates.

Is it possible you've heard of these brand new parcel delivery services called UPS and FedEx?

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Taxedout12901 t1_j9i1usz wrote

Not true I get a script delivered by USPS priority mail. You sound like either someone who has no clue what they are talking about, was fired from the post office, or was not hired when applied.

Edit added: ahh I see now you work for fedex. Got it.

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Nutmegdog1959 t1_j9j8gdu wrote

I've worked for both FedEx and UPS. Both excel at parcel delivery. USPS not so much.

The USPS is the biggest customer of FedEx spending $2 BILLION annually to hand pkgs to FedEx so they will be successfully delivered.

The US Tax payer just handed the USPS $100 BILLION in the form of the Postal Service Reform Act of 2021. And they still suck at mail delivery.

How much of your tax dollars go to subsidize UPS and FedEx? ZERO!

Have fun paying your taxes.

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qwarfujj t1_j9jlwub wrote

Were you born stupid or did you suffer some injury that caused it? The VA sends meds through the mail all the time.

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Nutmegdog1959 t1_j9jo4wv wrote

I realize you are probably some vet with PTSD or some other debilitating injury that impairs your cognition. You have my sympathies.

But the VA contracts with several pkg delivery companies in addition to USPS. And much of the 'mail' delivery is actually delivered by FedEx.

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qwarfujj t1_j9jox7o wrote

I get it, you are clearly the person most qualified at picking up boxes from here and putting them there, what with your wealth of knowledge involving moving boxes at both Fedex and UPS, but you're still a complete fucking moron.

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TheTowerBard t1_j9hssbq wrote

Oh shit. Can they send me the new guitar I ordered through that?! Sweet!

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Nutmegdog1959 t1_j9hszjt wrote

No, but maybe someone can email you some musical talent?

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TheTowerBard t1_j9htxbh wrote

That’s all you got? Shit, I thought you more clever than that. This response is kind of sad, honestly. I hope your doing ok big fella. Be well.

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Nutmegdog1959 t1_j9j8llm wrote

Your new guitar from Sweetwater will be delivered by FedEx.

Your talent, along with your intellect got lost in the mail.

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