by cschultz-2 » Tue Apr 02, 2013 3:56 am
Cool! That also brings up a fairly important topic.
A few years ago I sent a couple of copies of a book written by Massachusetts Senator John Kerry to the Senator's Washington office, along with a letter requesting he inscribe and autograph the books and return them to me in the postage-paid return envelope. I expected this was one request which would be returned fairly quickly, since any paid government official, no matter how powerful, is an employee of the people he serves. But instead of waiting a few weeks for the books, I found myself waiting almost two years.
Finally I picked up the phone and called Senator Kerry's office. I explained my problem, and asked simply that my books be returned to me, signed or not, since they were moderately expensive. In short order, my call was routed to one of the Senator's aides.
The aide explained to me what I'd either forgotten, or was ignoring: Times have changed. The days when an unsolicited package can be mailed to a US Senator are over. If you're sending a request to an elected official of the US government, call first and ask for instructions and procedures. I finally received my books, inscriptions, and autographs, but only after nearly two years and a lot of phone calls.
Cool! That also brings up a fairly important topic.
A few years ago I sent a couple of copies of a book written by Massachusetts Senator John Kerry to the Senator's Washington office, along with a letter requesting he inscribe and autograph the books and return them to me in the postage-paid return envelope. I expected this was one request which would be returned fairly quickly, since any paid government official, no matter how powerful, is an employee of the people he serves. But instead of waiting a few weeks for the books, I found myself waiting almost two years.
Finally I picked up the phone and called Senator Kerry's office. I explained my problem, and asked simply that my books be returned to me, signed or not, since they were moderately expensive. In short order, my call was routed to one of the Senator's aides.
The aide explained to me what I'd either forgotten, or was ignoring: Times have changed. The days when an unsolicited package can be mailed to a US Senator are over. If you're sending a request to an elected official of the US government, call first and ask for instructions and procedures. I finally received my books, inscriptions, and autographs, but only after nearly two years and a lot of phone calls.
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