I don't want to do a separate thread on the post office, which can get polarizing. In general, I've depended on it for years, and mostly -- with a few notable exceptions -- they've been dependable, even under difficult circumstances, like through the fleet post office aboard ship off Vietnam. Today I worry about the post office being diminished because, in addition to its important role in delivering checks and checks to pay bills for millions of people, and still being an important conduit for letters and packages (birthday and holiday gifts), post office locations anchor little rural communities and other remote locations where the schools have been closed, that have no other community gathering places. Many small but active towns simply wither when the post office closes, and residents lose track of each other, and their connection to the wider world. In a sense the USPS is the thread that holds the country together on the ground, when people put their smart phones in their pockets and step away from their devices, which contrary to popular opinion, they do.