December Reflector

Judy,

I sincerely hope your REFLECTOR has arrived at your home by now . . . mine, unbelievably, just arrived today, December 19th. With the flood of Christmas mail, I can understand issues arriving late during the latter part of the month. However, the magazine left Marietta for local post offices somewhere in the vicinity of December 2nd or 5th at the latest, in response to the editor's plea to get it into the hands of the USPS by the first few days of the month.

Bob Reynolds and the Board of Governors have taken careful note of the problem, I'm very sure, and they will continue to make efforts on our end to insure a timely delivery to our members. That having been said, I do understand that none of this lessens your frustration, and if your copy has not arrived, I will see to it that one is in your hands very soon. My sincere apology for the delay and anger this has caused. I hope you will continue your S&D subscription, since we value your membership as an ardent fan and longtime supporter of steamboating and river history.

Nope, nothing yet... One person who hasn't posted the arrival date of their Reflector is Carmen. Go ahead Carmen. We already know one made it to Italy. When did yours arrive, Dec. 6th????????????

I don´t have clue but it´s at least two weeks ago (and I still haven´t seen it, I only saw the envelope...).

Carmen

And that's another sort of delivery problem. Maybe it's Judy's delivery problem. Someone at the Post Office is giving it a read. Tut, tut.

Bulk Mail

For what its worth, our Museum gave up on using third class mail many years ago. For the problem Judy is having here and the amount of time needed to prepare the newsletter mailing for USPS specs we found it was no longer worth the "savings".

Wesley

Amen, Brother Wesley! I just returned to the museum after carting a BULKY bulk mailing (in the rain!) of our newly revised membership brochures to the Jeffersonville post office. We, too, are looking at possible alternatives due to the fact that we have ever fewer volunteers to deal with the stuffing, sorting, counting, binding and all the other USPS details that must be stringently followed in mailing at a lower rate.

I was told by a post office official (who asked to remain anonymous) some years ago that a lot of bulk mail languishes in post offices for weeks -- and that much of it NEVER reaches its destination.

Reflector's Arrival

Hi All,

Just returning home from a three week trip abroad to London. Sailed into New York on the Queen Mary 2 early yesterday morning and flew home to find my Reflector. Another great read! Just trying to get caught up on here with several posts and mail here at home.

Sounds as if USPS is having serious issues in some parts of the country. How crazy it is that Carmen has received her edition in Europe yet some members in the states are left wondering where there's is.

In the meantime, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday. Hope those who have not received their Reflector do in fact get it soon!

Taylor

Taylor Abbott;28494 wrote: Hi All,
Just returning home from a three week trip abroad to London. Sailed into New York on the Queen Mary 2 early yesterday morning and flew home to find my Reflector.
Taylor

Word on the Rialto is that the first three days of your crossing were not for weak kneed landlubbers. Which restaurant did you dine in and how was it?

Eureka!

Delivered by vacuum cleaner, I believe, but my Reflector showed up on my porch today, one day after the editor received his, and 15-18 days after Richardson mailed them. Dave and I discussed this last night, and I will be sending a formal request to the S&D BoG Chairman regarding the future mailing routine. While the delivery has been historically bad, next year's postal service cuts portend even greater problems: they are cutting about half of the regional distribution centers. For instance, we have one here in the QuadCities right next to the airport. The next closest one is in Cedar Rapids, which is where Dave's Dubuque mail currently funnels through. However next year the CR facility will be closed and all their mail will be routed through the QC. If Dave mails something in Dubuque to another address in Dubuque, it will first come here. I can drop off something in my post office in the slot next to the p.o. boxes, but even if it is addressed to one of those boxes, it will first be sent to Milan and back. The cuts announced by the USPS are basically in this form - one out of two regional centers will be closed. The hangup in my delivery was not here in the local post office - I had the rack checked Friday and it was empty. So somewhere in the regional la la land it rested, perhaps next to Dave's... In other words, bulk rate next year could take three or four weeks to get delivered. I think the Reflector is worthy of a timelier delivery. Dave pays $1.88 now per issue first class. That would up the cost per membership by about $7 a year. I would be willing to pay that, would you?

Frank X. Prudent;28495 wrote: Word on the Rialto is that the first three days of your crossing were not for weak kneed landlubbers. Which restaurant did you dine in and how was it?

Hi Frank,

The reports were in fact true! We were warned leaving Southampton that we would be in for rough day ahead... turned into three. Took one avomine tablet. The motion had no affect on me at all, and didn't take another tablet while onboard. Can't say the same for many though! We dealt with Force 10 winds and 30-40ft swells for three full days. In between the course of the second and third days, we experienced hurricane force winds and 40 plus ft swells according to Commodore Rynd's report. It was indeed felt as I was sleeping around 2am and was awakened by a large shutter and a violent roll to starboard. Nearly felt like being on an elevator! Our course was diverted much south, going down the coasts of France and Spain then turning west, just north of the Azores. Lot of crashing dishes, plates, and anything not secured, especially in the Kings Court area. No reports of anyone seriously falling or being hurt. The pitching and rolling were much more than I gathered most anticipated.

I dined in Britannia (stateroom was on deck 6) after our discussion several months back. Food, service, entertainment, and the refit all superb. Loved every minute of it. Have to say I quite enjoyed the pitching and rolling. Spent much time sitting in the large windows on Deck 3 watching the huge swells. Quite an amazing ship to handle what we she did. Made for fun evenings on the dance floor! Already looking in to booking another trip for late next year.

All and all, 5 Stars from me!

Not a problem. What is really irksome is that one report I heard states that if they just raised the first class rate a matter of pennies, there would be no deficit. Just that one thing alone. If the math is correct, one wonders, how come the USPS can't figure that out? Almost anyone could afford to pay a few pennies more for the occasional first class letter, although it is usually a bill, and it would not affect junk and bulk mailing.