Photo By Master Sgt. Gary Witte | Staff Sgt. Jennifer B. Olson, a postal clerk with the 11th Postal Platoon under the...... read more read more
LSA ANACONDA, Iraq – They could knock on wood, cross their fingers, or hunt for a rabbit's foot, but mostly they just hoped. Because really, holiday hopes were all the procrastinators had that their packages would arrive home before Christmas.
With the deadline for timely mailing almost 10 days past, customers still lined up at the east side post office with boxes filled with gifts.
Spc. Pete J. O'Brien of Woodstown, N.J., a cavalry scout with 5th Squadron, 117th Cavalry Regiment, filled out an address label in red and green ink.
The nearby teddy bear, wearing a Santa hat and a Philadelphia Phillies shirt, was being mailed to his girlfriend, Jenna.
"I'm a pretty last-minute guy," he said. "I'm hoping it will make it in time."
O'Brien said he and his girlfriend agreed to exchange only one small gift each for Christmas and save the bigger gift-giving when he gets home. She, of course, had sent his gift two days ago.
"She's less of a slacker than I am," he said.
The base post offices remain busy throughout the year, but the Christmas season multiplies the traffic. In the past month, the base has handled 1.5 million pounds, or 94,000 individual pieces, of ingoing and outgoing mail, Postal Superintendent Master Sgt. Cedric Palmore of Memphis, Tenn., said.
"A lot of people wait until the last week," Palmore said, noting that more customers started coming in after the Dec. 4 priority mail deadline.
To accommodate their time-challenged customers, members of the 111th Postal Company under the 22nd Personnel Services Battalion and the 732nd Expeditionary Mission Support Group even set up at one of the base recreation centers one afternoon to help get the mail out before the deadline.
East side Postmaster Tech Sgt. Victor S. Negron of Queens, N.Y., said the command even tries to push more flights out to help get last-minute mail home before the holiday.
"We completely understand," Negron said of the late mailings. "We still do our best to get it there."
In another effort to accommodate customers for the season, the office left out a box of free wrapping paper, which was used up within a few days.
Sgt. Lawrence R. Davidson of Syracuse N.Y., a heavy equipment operation supervisor for the 15th Engineer Company, said he doesn't normally wait until the last minute, but was extremely busy.
"It was Thanksgiving," Davidson said. "I put my head down, and then it was Christmas."
In his box, he placed a CD of photos, a sweater for his wife Shannon, and a DVD of himself wishing his family a Merry Christmas. He had already sent his Christmas cards and received his Christmas present from his wife.
"I'm crossing my fingers and hoping it won't be (late)," Davidson said.
| Date Taken: | 12.22.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 12.22.2006 02:21 |
| Story ID: | 8642 |
| Location: | BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 315 |
| Downloads: | 251 |
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