The Man Who Created His Own Mail Box

How clever is this? An empty paint bucket repurposed into a mail box! The piece that says Jotun has been cut out and wired back on. That piece swings in to allow for mail to be slipped in. And of course, to erase any doubt, LETTER BOX written big and bold across it.

What you don’t see behind the mail box is the house it belongs to with its all kinds of everything which I obviously did not have the right to take pictures of to share.

Sometimes I see an elderly man, probably in his 80s potter around. Sometimes rummaging through thrash bags, sorting through empty cans and plastic bottles.

The front of his rundown house has old TVs, refrigerators, kettles, toasters, newspapers, barrels and more. Flower pots are lined haphazardly between plants and trees growing in his garden. Some flower pots have even made it outside his house and let's stay outside because it’s rude to stare into someone’s home.

His house is right in front of a school, my son’s. Mornings and afternoons, his front gate is swarming with kids and their parents who have come to drop or pick them up. Through all the hustle of parents and cars honking, he’d carry on with his day not paying any attention to the chaos 5 feet away.

What is his story? Is this how he gets by? How much can he make collecting cans and plastic to be recycled? Does he have family? Do they come to visit? AND DOES ANYONE SEND HIM MAIL? Hmmmmm. You know, I should have thought of this sooner, but it just occurred to me that I could drop in a Chinese New Year card for him. It might be a nice surprise. These days, most of the mail that comes by snail mail are bills and summonses from my experience.

I have already included it on my to do list so I don't forget. And I am glad I wrote this post which started out really just to show you how clever it was to turn this bucket into an ecstatic mail box. Now off to look for a festive card that is as creative as his mail box.

Cheers,
Sh33la