As I think I've written before, the previous owners of our house had a 1980s meets Americana thing going on. Worked for them, but not really for me.
Our mailbox had one of those weird wrap/cover things on it; this one looked like a vintage American flag. See, there's the Americana thing again. I took it off at one point but realized that the mailbox underneath was rusty. While the cover wasn't my favorite, it stayed on longer than originally planned since it was serving a functional purpose of oxidation disguise.
As with most purchases I attempt to make, I felt the need to research mailboxes (almost ad nauseam, I might add) before heading out to shop. What I realized during online browsing was that I wasn't quite ready to commit to a crazy, non-standard mailbox resembling a dog, airplane, or other such randomness. Something simple and straightforward was going to do the trick.
I went to our local Ace Hardware in search of a mailbox. (Note to self: Write posting about how Ace Hardware is a wonderful example of a quasi-locally owned business. I am not sure exactly how the franchising for Ace works, so maybe they are working for some giant corporate office after all, but it feels like a local business!) Their staff is great, and within a few minutes of my entering the store, I was offered assistance. I said, "yes, actually, I am looking for a mailbox". The sales guy led me to the correct aisle and pointed out distinguishing features of various mailboxes.
After he finished showing me Ace's mailbox stock, he stood there and waited for me to say something. I thought, "oh, apparently this is where I am supposed to choose one and take it to the register." It was odd. I remembered hearing that when men shop, they go into a store with the intention of walking out with a purchase. This was obviously what the Ace guy was expecting me to do. I wanted to leave, visit 5 other stores, go back to the internet, do more research.....but Ace guy was so helpful...could I really let him down?
So I did it. I bought a black mailbox. (Ace guy was even nice enough to give my mailbox to the cashier to hold while I wandered around the store looking at paint.) 15 minutes, in and out of the store. The next day it rained. But the day after that, I installed my new mailbox. Done.
As an aside, there is a part of our old mailbox remains. It never would have occurred to me that a slide out mailbox caddy would be a so helpful. It looks like this. Ours has found a new home, thanks to the Ace guy.
