Tax season part 3

[Allen]

80,000 new ARMED agents. Why would an IRS agent need to be armed? Were they told to shoot people who owe taxes or was it to be a show of "power"?

[JimF]

Reminds me of the old days, when mail carriers were armed . . . .I guess to guard the junk mail we all get delivered every day!

[Oyaji]

Reminds me of the old days, when mail carriers were armed . . . .I guess to guard the junk mail we all get delivered every day!

I don't remember that and I'm soon to be 76 yrs old. Today's letter carriers are likely to be armed with pepper spray to ward off aggressive canines. I do believe Postal Inspectors are armed with firearms however.

[Allen]

Reminds me of the old days, when mail carriers were armed . . . .I guess to guard the junk mail we all get delivered every day!

????

New one for me too.

My Mother was born here (town where I live) in 1921. The mail carrier then was a friend of the family. He would let my mother stand on the running boards of his car as he delivered the mail. She was probably 10-12 years old then. He would pick up the mail at the local train depot. THAT was the PO back then. The mail was in a wooden "sorter" A - Z about 36" x 36". Delivery would have been fairly quick but all the roads were dirt then and some people lived way out of town. I assume my Mother would stick the mail in the mail boxes so the driver didn't have to lean out so much.

She never mentioned the carrier having a gun though he may have. I assume it would have been for aggressive dogs, like mentioned above. Everyone had one or more then and everyone kept them outside back then. In the cities carriers perhaps were armed to guard packages or letters with checks/money in them?

The Postmaster, years later when we got an actual PO kept a Colt Detective Special in the drawer. He was also a friend of the family and would ask to see my latest gun when I bought one. Yep, right in the front door of the PO. Everyone knew one another and it was a place to hang out to fellowship. Now, the old residents like me go there and never see anyone at all that we know including the PM, the clerks nor the carriers.

Simpler times.

[PWC]

Both of my grandfathers were mail carriers at a time when the horse was the primary delivery vehicle in Oklahoma. One had a Colt SAA, and one had a Iver Johnson top break .38. It was common for people to send money thru the mail and carriers were assaulted and robbed often enough to officially warrant carry.

One grandfather (1878 - 1968) retired from the post office, and one (1880 - 1960) was a fulltimefarmer and part time letter carrier.

I'm 80 and only remember the stories. Fortunately, neither were robbed.

[PWC]

Sorry for double entry..

[Allen]

Both of my grandfathers were mail carriers at a time when the horse was the primary delivery vehicle in Oklahoma. One had a Colt SAA, and one had a Iver Johnson top break .38. Fortunately, neither were robbed.

And that's probably why.