A Nice Story

Look elsewhere if you want a dose of midsummer cynicism. This column should be illustrated with a happy face.

Exactly 10 years ago this month I was suffering through an aggravating day in the office — we all have them. Then I checked my mailbox and found a tiny envelope with my name hand-written on it.

What was this, a party invitation? Hardly. It was a Christmas card from Andrea Nierenberg.

You know Andrea. She was publisher of Target Marketing, then went into the sales training business. She must be a good motivator because her very presence cheers people up.

But a Christmas card in July? Was she losing it? I studied the envelope.

It was postmarked December 1996.

It had to be a joke. But it wasn't. The mailroom guys assured me that it'd come in that morning, 19 months after being mailed.

I began to get the picture, and it made my day. Indeed, the sentiments in the card cheered me up more than they would have in December of '96. So I called Andrea, told her the story, and I think it made her day too. We still joke about it every time we see each other.

In my modest way, I was the recipient of a classic late mail delivery.

This is not the most dramatic story of its type. Checks have arrived after 40 years, and so have direct mail pieces. A World War I-era letter was delivered to a family after sitting in a post office for nine decades.

It's bound to happen, given the sheer volume of mail. But the people who get these letters are usually filled with wonder. Who wouldn't like to receive a message from a relative they never knew, circa 1914?

One thing's for sure: These rare episodes, part of the enduring charm of paper mail, will never be replicated online.

Happy holidays to Andrea.