The Tale of the Mailbox

I finished writing my last post, got up from the computer and looked outside.  There on the ground was my mailbox.  Again.  Admittedly, it has been a few years since I had to replace the box. 

The last time this happened, a grass-cutting crew was 'fleeing' the scene after breaking the windows of a car.  They were blowing stones around with a leaf blower and how ever they were goofing around, they broke the neighbor's car windows.  In their haste to flee they backed into my mailbox. 

I came home from work to see it lying on the ground.  I called the police and were told that they were already on their way - to the neighbors.  The landscaping company paid for the repair.

Prior to that incident I'd had local teenagers knock the box over.  One time someone ran not only into the mailbox, but also managed to scatter all the rocks in the front yard along 50-feet.  We figured that they probably had done some serious damage to their undercarriage.

Another teenager blew it up with firecrackers.

Once, someone removed it completely from the ground and a neighbor returned it after finding it in their yard.  That incident led to securing the post in cement.

While I was sitting here blogging, I'd heard a scraping noise, but did not bother to get up and look.  When I saw the box lying on its side, I knew that it had happened while I was sitting here.  I called the Police Dept. to make a report, figuring that since no one rang the bell, no one was going to 'come clean' about the killing of the box.

So, imagine my surprise when the officer arrived and I discovered a note on the front door that a neighbor's teenage daughter had backed into it.  Just what is it about teenagers and mailboxes?