[Leica] US Pestulance (Postal) Service

[jshul at comcast.net (Jim Shulman)]

One of the more recent frustrating aspects of an unhealthy attachment to
film photography has nothing to do with the rising price of film or the
delay between image capture and image viewing: it's the US Postal Service.

Over the past few months I've had unconscionable delays (and on one
occasion, as loss) in film shipments, both to and from labs.  These have
included:  ruptured envelopes (using the USPS's envelopes provided for
Priority Mail), delays of up to a month, and in one case film just MIA
(fortunately it was a test roll of a new camera and lens, so nothing
monumental was lost--if you could consider anything I shoot to be
monumental.)  In almost all cases I've double-wrapped my film--the film goes
into one USPS envelope, and that envelope into a larger one.  All is
Tyvek-encased, taped to a fare-thee-well, and yet still moves with the speed
of Lincoln's funeral cortege at a premium rate.

The strange part is that I've just started having this problem during the
past few months.  For years I sent film zipping back and forth across the
country at lightning speed, without complications.  

For those few remaining analog fans, has anyone else experienced similar
recent problems?

Jim Shulman
Bryn Mawr, PA
Whose tacky 8mm color movies of the Mermaid Parade finally made it to the
lab after a SIX DAY JOURNEY AT PRIORITY MAIL RATES.