Put your finger on the string

Mailing a package used to be simpler. All packages were wrapped in brown paper and tied with string--used and saved string. The brown paper was likely reused, too, or may have been a cut up grocery sack. The box was certainly reused.

You put a slip of paper in with whatever you were mailing (preferably homemade cookies) with the destination address "just in case". Then you wrapped the box tightly in brown paper. You were allowed three small pieces of expensive Scotch tape, one in the middle, and one at each neatly folded end. Then you would use the saved string to tie the paper on. When you got ready to make a knot, you would call upon the small child, who had been quietly watching this major process, to hold the string with one finger while you pulled the knot tight. The excitement was in learning just when to pull the finger away from the string so as not to be stuck in the knot.

You wrote the address on the brown paper, and walked to the post office to mail the package. When you got to the counter, you told the postmistress "parcel post". She did a complicated calculation of weight and destination, all the while talking about whether it would rain in time to save this year's crop, and about how many jars of watermelon pickles you were putting up. She might let you lick the postage stamps. Then you would walk home, stopping in at the library for a new Nancy Drew mystery.

I am very pleased to report that Sherlock Holmes is in the public domain. That means you can read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box" with just one click of the mouse. I won't tell you how it turns out, but I will say listening to Sherlock Holmes cassettes in the car improved the quality of many road trips with the boys!

Today I learned the hard way that you can't reuse a Priority Mail box unless you want to pay Priority Mail postage. I wish I had covered the box with used brown paper. Then I wouldn't have to make another trip to the post office. I couldn't have used string, though!

The Box: Select a strong box with room for cushioning. On recycled boxes, cover all previous labels and markings with a heavy black marker or adhesive labels.

Sealing: Tape the opening of the box and reinforce all seams with 2 inch wide tape. Use clear or brown packaging tape, reinforced packing tape or paper tape. Do not use cord, string or twine.

If you are easily amused--let's say you think pulling your finger away from the string before it's caught in the knot is exciting--you might want to read this brief history of the U. S. Postal Service from 1775 to the present. And I sure hope there are homemade cookies in the present!