Since the Pony Express, we Americans have been welcoming and depending upon regular United States Postal Service mail delivery – through thick or thin.

In this era of major Donald Trump donor and ally Louis DeJoy as U.S. postmaster general, however, there’s a breakdown. Here in the Oakdale-Woodfords section of Portland, for months now, I have been trying to adjust to mail delivery just three days each week, instead of six.

As I write, today is the sixth day without mail (excluding Sunday, of course). There are bills to pay that don’t arrive on time, so I must pay penalties. My tenant has not gotten his paycheck for three weeks. The system seems to be crumbling.

We need to demand that our USPS perform as we know it can. It is still a cornerstone of our democratic institutions in this country, except it’s failing us badly. When you cannot even buy stamps too often, what is the message we are getting? Something’s rotten here – let’s fix it!

Anne B. Zill
Portland