On Bernie, the USPS, and COVID

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If you are logging onto social media, chances are you are experiencing the same thing as me.

Bernie Sanders memes.

Bernie Sanders attended the inauguration of Joe Biden this past Wednesday wearing his brown mittens.  With an envelope in one hand, it appeared Sanders was attending the inauguration before going to the post office.

The jokesters of the internet did not fail us with all the places Bernie and his gloves could appear.

There are thousands more.  If you post a picture of your front yard, seconds later, someone will photoshop Bernie as a new decoration in your yard. 

If you are going to your mailbox, chances are you are ALSO experiencing the same thing as me.

Mail that is weeks late.

I am not anticipating any mail.  This week I was surprised to receive a hospital bill from when Bobby had staples put into his head a few months ago.  When the bill arrived, it was already a week overdue.

Is the USPS slow because they are overwhelmed delivering COVID vaccines? 

I don’t know.  When I ask Google for some answers, the only answer I got was that the USPS makes no guaranteed delivery dates on standard mail.

I suppose I need to get used to paying late fees.  At least for now.

I was also surprised to get a letter from our High School.  “To the parents or guardian of Robert Coupe.”

Hmmm.  What could this be?

When I opened the envelope, I saw that the letter was dated three weeks ago.  It was a warning regarding truant behavior—more than three unexcused absences in a row.

I rolled my eyes and tossed the paper to the side.

When this school year began, the student was responsible for marking their attendance.

The school then had the teachers mark the kids present in each of their classes the following marking period, which was fine – as long as all of their zoom links worked.

When it came to Biology, Bobby could not get into the class.  He emailed his teacher and was instructed on how to make the zoom link work.  I followed the teacher’s instructions but also could not get Bobby into class.

Being responsible, Bobby did not want his mother to step in.  His response? “I will handle it.”

Finding Bobby watching YouTube or playing video games every day at 10:24 – right when Biology was to begin, I realized “I will handle it” meant, “I will email the teacher and let him know I still can’t get in, but hey, I tried.”

Hours later, the Biology teacher provided me a link for Bobby to attend class at my request.

So, regardless that Bobby attended every other class those days and reached out to his Biology teacher about a faulty zoom link, his teacher still marked him repeatedly absent.  Bobby is now a truant child.

Sheesh.

I can’t imagine the headache this must be for the administration to figure out which students are legitimately missing classes regularly and why.  The virtual learning world has some hiccups that need some attention.  I guess there is still plenty of time to figure it all out.

Having two more students test positive for COVID, the High School is moving to all virtual learning for the time being.  Unfortunately, those two new cases were members of Bobby’s basketball team.  Even though he is symptom-free, last week, Bobby began his 14-day quarantine. 

Bobby spends his days with video games, youtube, and TV in his room. Signing on to ALL his classes for proper attendance.

While I sit downstairs and giggle at all the new places I see Bernie appear.

22 thoughts on “On Bernie, the USPS, and COVID

  1. Okay that last one got me 😂 And I did some online shopping November and December, and the USPS lost 4 out of 5 packages. Thankfully I have nice neighbors that come by if they get my packages! It wouldn’t bother me much, except that at the same time I had to hear how reliable the USPS is from every news outlet. Talk about adding insult to injury! 😅

    1. Ooh, that is tough! I have no idea why everything is taking so long and going to the wrong place! I sell stuff on eBay and had complaints about items not arriving until 5 weeks later. Frustrating!
      Haha! That last one got me too. You see that mitten come out and then the mask in the background and that is it – time to laugh!

  2. I loved seeing the Bernie memes too. They provided a wonderful escape from the daily grind.

    Sorry for the multiple daily grinds you’re dealing with from school to the UPS. Sounds like a drag. But this will all pass and there’ll be lots of Bernie memes to help you pass the time! 🤣

    1. I agree -the Bernie memes were fun. I really had no idea how far they were going to go and enjoyed them all.

      The daily Biology emails were annoying – especially when I tried everything the teacher instructed the student to do and still fell short. The truant days are fixable but annoying just the same.

      Thank goodness for the Bernie memes! I am sure I will find him somewhere completely unthinkable and enjoy a great laugh!

      1. We’ve been very lucky that T’s teachers have been flexible but I’ve also heard stories of the opposite. I’m sorry that’s been the case for Bobby’s biology teacher.

    1. The Bernie memes are definitely a light of laughter when there are so many other frustrating things going on around us. Look after yourself as well! x

  3. Don’t you wish you could be “quarantined” for two weeks? Sounds like a perfect vacation to me. Symptom free of course😉

    Our mail is weird too. I’ve kinda added it to the shrug list 🤷🏼‍♀️ most of what I get is bills, credit card offers, and people trying to sell me burial insurance or AARP membership… “old person” stuff☹

    Bernie is so serious, it’s fun to see him in the memes. He’s a good sport about it too.😂💕

    1. Oh my gosh, yes!! That would be so great. My sickness’s never seem to match what everyone in the house is experiencing. Where I care for their needs, I have to muster through my own (as you well know!).

      Yeah! What is up with the mail? I get a bunch of junk stuff, but every now and again I get something important that is now overdue. Why? I can’t figure out what is going on with the mail. I remember Trump pointed a finger at the USPS as an enemy, but I never really figured out what the big picture was there. It might be nothing, or it might be why we are all experiencing a huge mail waiting time. Hopefully, it all works out soon!

      Oh my gosh, Bernie is. It is so fun to see where they are going to place him and his gloves next!

  4. The “Ghost” meme I saw had Patrick Swayze around Bernie. I think my fave is the zoom on Pence’s hair. They’re all so silly!

    There are times when our mail doesn’t arrive till 9pm, other days it’s 8am, and sometimes there’s no delivery.

    1. I saw the one with Pence’s hair – that one was so funny!

      The mail is so crazy right now. I have no idea why everything is so delayed. There must be something going on, but I have no idea.

      1. It seems to be delayed effect of when they started shutting stuff down last year, right before the election. For me, it’s also the result of our regular carrier being reassigned after medical leave. Now we have different carriers every day.

  5. My father just got the package we sent him in December. It’s almost funny, almost. I just don’t understand the Bernie thing. I guess it’s clever the places he’s showing up, but I don’t see any humor in it. Sometimes I feel like life passes me by. I pay the bills at work. I’ve been 100% successful at getting the late fees waived. The downside is you’ve gotta spend 40 minute on hold with Comcast.

    1. Bernie is definitely one of those weird ones, I agree. I associate it with the person who said to go get toilet paper at the beginning of the pandemic. It caused this rush – this whole new phenomenon. When the guy took Bernie’s picture he made a, “there you go – have fun with this” statement. Then people did just that. I wonder if his photo would have gotten around as far if he was treated as just another photo in the crowd.

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