I have a photo of a friend leaping
from a mailbox. He was thirteen,
an express airmail parcel trying out
his wings. It was the year of the famous
postal strike, Nixon calling in reserves
to preserve the flow of mail, my parents
in a tizzy, fearful all this fuss would
raise the price of stamps from five cents up to
six, first class, a dime to send it airmail.
Pennies tend to add up; in a year, they
both were gone, from one thing or another-
call it the rising cost of living. Still
I have this photo, though it's only black
and white, my friend, forever flying,
airmail delivery on its way to
the future, unconcerned about the cost.
- Angelo Giambra
