Gives “Snail Mail” a Whole New Meaning

From the WordHustler human interest department: a woman in a small Kansas town got a “Return to Sender” letter in her mail one day. But the funny part was that it was a letter written by a prior resident on November 11, 1948. Xan Wendel, current resident of a large old house at 700 Ohio Street, received Gertrude Gilmore’s letter, which discussed the Dewey/Truman election and other timely matters, in her mailbox with a “Sorry this took so long!” note from the USPS. Evidently, Gilmore was trying to send a letter to someone named Sally in Connecticut but the letter got returned…sixty years later.

Here’s the envelope, which isn’t actually in bad shape considering it’s been kicking around the USPS (or somewhere) for the last six decades:

Kinda makes waiting three months to hear back from a submission not seem so bad, huh?

To read the full story, go HERE.

Do you want to push the US Postal Service to the limit by sending out some glorious query letters, short story submissions, and screenplay contest entries? We thought so! Why not use WordHustler to submit a poetry chapbook to the Camber Press Poetry Award or a short story to the Katherine Anne Porter Prize? Deadlines are quickly approaching. Come on, teach the USPS the definition of the word HUSTLE.