That's just my prediction. Sorry to be so pessimistic, but I've never been confused with Pollyanna. Hick shares my sentiments on this case.
As we drove out the main entrance of our enclave a week ago, on our way to the casino with The Pony, we observed a startling sight on Mailbox Row. You may recall our last visit there, in the aftermath of destruction.
There had been a black plastic mailbox on the end of the row, next to the parcel lockboxes. It stuck out on the end, having been placed there after the structure was built. The Destroyers had broken the door of that black plastic mailbox clean off. It was lying on the ground behind Mailbox Row. That poor mailbox received its mail doorless for a week or so. And then the entire box was taken down. And replaced with a metal mailbox.
The windows of A-Cad almost imploded from the collective inhalation of our audible gasps.
Look at it! So innocent. Proudly sitting atop Mailbox Row. Shiny and without a dent or scuff. Ready to serve for years as a receptacle for important correspondence, monthly bills, slick coupon pages, and random political postcards and assorted advertisements. The hopefulness of it makes my heart hurt.
"Welp." Said Hick. "That won't be there long."
Indeed. Might as well paint a red-and-white target on the side. Put up a sign with a flashing arrow pointing to it.
If it wasn't for those parcel lockboxes blocking the way, I'm pretty sure that poor new mailbox could be home-runned into the middle of the creek.
Maybe a concrete holder? No, they would slowly batter away at it. A rebar cage?
ReplyDeleteJust over the hill, they destroyed a beautiful arched brick holder in one night! So yes, a big no to the concrete. Rebar might work. Until they bring a metal saw.
DeleteIt's pretty sad to see that mailbox so unprotected. Even if the owner had screwed it down I'm afraid it's too exposed and tempting to the roaming vandals:(
ReplyDeleteIt probably is screwed down, but that won't protect it from a whacking. I doubt there are enough screws in it to hold it in place when smacked with a metal bat. It's like a ball on a tee!
DeleteI remember a CSI:Las vegas, where teen boys were driving on country roads and destroyed mail boxes. One man had had enough, seated his new bow on a steel pole, and filled the box with cement. It didn't end well for those boys. All three died, Gil Grissom figured it out.
ReplyDeleteWe're not out to kill anybody, but Hick made our mailbox out of steel pipe. That's back when it sat on a board, without the enclosure. There were still other mailboxes along the row, so not a clear shot. But he figured the vandals would feel quite a sting when they whacked that steel mailbox with a metal bat, especially in the winter time.
DeleteTee-off!
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what we thought when we first saw it! Those people must have just moved here, and don't have rural-road smarts.
DeleteI think you can buy very sturdy mail boxes, I don't recall what they are made of, maybe concrete and steel. Irritating vandals.
ReplyDeleteI have seen several that look like the mailbox cover and post are encased in tough plastic. I imagine it absorbs the momentum of the blow. They seem to last, and not chip or shatter. They could probably be knocked over by driving into them, if not buried deep enough in concrete.
DeleteThe odds of everyone here using Mailbox Row getting a sturdy mailbox are slim. So there's the problem of finding room for individual mailboxes among the others.
I remember that CSI episode. I wonder if the mailbox vandals also vandalise their own mailboxes or do other teams of vandals do it for them? One wonders how they feel when they can't get mail because their boxes are wrecked. Do they ever grow out of such behaviour?
ReplyDeleteI imagine the vandals live in town, and are young enough that they don't get much mail. They probably don't even think about that part.
DeleteThey outgrow it, and another upcoming gang takes their place!
I would like to see them hit a steel pole encased in concrete. That must smart.
ReplyDeleteI would just like to see the initial look of surprise when the "batter" realizes that mailbox is not moving.
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