Incoming
A writer in the Century some years ago recalled in passing the
era when mail was delivered twice a day. He noted, somewhat
whimsically, how that practice ensured at least two hopeful moments in
the day. For who knew what might arrive in the next post—it could be a
letter from a longlost friend, the offer of a dream job, the awarding
of a prize, an invitation to a party, a mea culpa from the girlfriend
who jilted you in college. Receiving such a letter was highly unlikely,