Worked All states destroyed
Well, after two years of work on the bands I managed to complete both my 10 meter and 20 meter endorsements for the Worked All States. I took the coveted QSL cards (100 of them) to the Melbourne hamfest for confirmation and then waited on the paperwork to clear the American Radio Relay League.
Seems like only a couple of weeks and the certificate arrived in the mailbox. I knew when I opened the mail box it was a goodie as it had my call sign on it, it was bigger than a #10 envelope, and it wasn't a catalog for radio gear. Before I reached in to get it I caught the site of something none of us wants to see when retrieving certificates and photos from our mail boxes - a folded envelope!
I could still see the mail truck going up the street, if I could have ran after him/her I would have. Not only was the envelope folded several times but it was wet on one end to boot! Odd that an envelope could be wet as it wasn't even raining, water stains are evident in the following photos.
So now I have a wet, folded Worked All States certificate delivered by an outfit that prides itself on getting the mail through no matter what, of course they never do say what shape the mail will be in when it gets there.
I am so glad that the ARRL isn't run like the USPS as I called and was directed right to the person in charge of replacements and was assured I would receive another one. I know, I know what's the beef? The USPS keeps raising prices and we get less and less service for more and more money.
Here's some shots of the envelope and certificate, I'm sure the USPS and their employee will have a valid reason for destroying. And to think we have to put up with this because the PO is the only game in town. Guess that's why email has grown to be so popular, even certificates are being turned into PDF to keep more incidents like this from happening.
PICTURES
UPDATE 12.17.2007
Received a replacement certificate thanks to the help of Bill Moore, NC1L of the Amerrican Radio Relay League.
