SEP 30, 11 (1/2) .. A SPECIAL THANK YOU CARD TO PATTI ..

By Cap Chastain September 30, 2011 A Special Poignant Moment, India Mail, MAIL, Patti, Special Memory

“Oh it’s a long long way.. from May to December.. but the days grow shorter.. when  you reach September”.. September Song.. Jimmy Durante with his ‘husky’ voice and  also Eddie Albert sang it.. and here we are.. the END of September..

In FWIW 28.. day before yesterday.. I wrote of LITTLE VOICES.. and I wrote of the sad little Thank You Card that did NOT  have an envelope..

Well.. as promised.. I made for her a special envelope.. and yesterday.. I wrote on  her a THANK YOU to Patti 99501 for her support and for a VERY SPECIAL ITEM that Patti sent to me last summer..

In my note to Patti.. I said ‘Letting go is so hard.. and I am having a very hard time LETTING GO of this special child.. this Thank You Card with her own special envelope I custom made just for her.”

She (the little card) faces so many risks and so many dangers in the mail as she will attempt to get out of India to the United States.. fact is she very well may NOT ever get out of India.. her special envelope may be crudely ripped open and in disgust ..  because there will be no money inside.. she may be torn up in anger or simply thrown away..

The sad fact of India envelope mail is that  Patti has received empty envelopes with the contents taken.. how sad it that?

I was thinking of sending her via UPS (YES.. BIG BROWN IS HERE IN INDIA).. but the little card said to me,  ‘Dad.. I want to be a real piece of mail.. with my own postage and I want to go with the other mail.”

I had written a special thank you (on one of little card’s identical sisters) to Lawrence Cardoza at the YMCA in New Delhi.. so I was going to the main GPO to send that card via India Speed Post.. as I had done yesterday with two other thank you cards..

So out and off we went.. Patti’s little special card and Lawrence’s thank you card.. we got to the main GPO and after a twenty minute wait.. I was at the window.. I handed the postal clerk Lawrence’s card and he processed it.. Speed Post..

IS THERE A GOD OF LITTLE THANK YOU CARDS WHO WERE BORN WITH NO ENVELOPE AND WHO WAS SO SAD AND WHO WAS NOW ABOUT TO BE THROWN INTO THE GENERAL MAIL..

NOW YOU MUST KNOW THAT I AM IN  A SPECIAL SECTION OF THE MAIN GPO IN CALCUTTA THAT DEALS ONLY AND SPECIFICALLY WITH SPEED POST MAIL .. I AM NOT IN  THE MAIN PART OF THE GPO.. AND MY POSTAL CLERK ONLY HANDLES SPEED POST..

Suddenly.. before I stepped away from the counter.. SUDDENLY..  the thought occurred to me to simply hand Patti’s tender little thank-you-card to the postal clerk.. and so I did.. pointing to the LARGE BLOCK LETTERS AT THE BOTTOM OF HER envelope that said U.S.A. 99520-2591..

UNDAUNTED he said.. as he took Little Thank-You-Card in her special envelope made just for her..

“Sir.. that will have to go as REGISTERED MAIL.. here is a special form for you to fill out.. please enter your local address here in Calcutta.. your address in the United States.. the contents..  the value of the contents.. and sign the form at the bottom..”

I did as directed and handed him the completed form..  he neatly folded the large customs form  (well maybe NOT so neatly but he got the very large form folded down to fit the outside dimensions of her small envelope) and BAM.. HE STAPLED IT TWICE TO HER ENVELOPE.. I heard her tiny little voice say from within her envelope.. “OUCH.. WHAT WAS THAT DAD..”  .. “SPECIAL LITTLE CARD YOU are going REGISTERED MAIL and you just got STAPLED..”

The postal clerk flipped her into a special bin at his desk.. I took my receipt.. and walked away..

WHEW.. so Patti .. it looks like she very well may reach you..  in fact I am saying to you.. COUNT ON SEEING HER ONE OF THESE DAYS..

I AM SO TICKLED WITH THIS POSTAL DEVELOPMENT.. NOW I KNOW HOW TO DO REGISTERED MAIL

AH LIFE.. YOU CAN NOT GO BACK..

This tender little thank-you-card was born a small teeny weeny little caterpillar.. sadly with NO skills to make herself a cocoon.. so I made it for her and placed her lovingly inside of her SPECIAL LITTLE COCOON.. one day she will slowly emerge from her cocoon into Patti’s hands and WOW..  she will have become a FLUTTER-BY.. a WORLD TRAVELED FLUTTER-BY.. amazed at what she has become..

OH THE MIRACLES OF LIFE OH GOD OF ABRAHAM.. OH THE MIRACLES YOU HAVE WROUGHT.. THE MIRACLE OF ..  METAMORPHOSIS ..

WITH MUCH LOVE TO YOU ALL.. Cap..  post script.. she made it safe and sound to Patti .. it took almost four weeks .. love..