Dear John: I read your blurb regarding the US Postal Service black hole, and it made me chuckle.

About 10 years ago, I sold an item on eBay and it was shipped from Philadelphia to Toronto. It was a routine sale, and I had countless overseas sales arrive successfully — but not this one.

Forty-five days after mailing the item, I received an annoyed email from the customer (who hadn’t received the item).

I apologized and refunded without question.

How this man even remembered me, but five years later I received an email thanking me for the item. It had arrived, and in one piece. I still wonder where it sat for five years. D.K.

Dear D.K.: I hope it wasn’t a fruit cake. I hear those things are only good for 4 ¹/₂ years.

Thanks for the laugh.

The post office prides itself on deliveries, even if they are a bit late — “neither snow, nor rain nor heat nor old age stays these couriers from the eventual completion of their appointed rounds.”

Seriously, I love the post office. And the IRS. And the FBI. And any other government agency that can make my life miserable. And you should, too.