When we moved into the house on South Race Street next to Rufe Robinson, someone, perhaps it was my mother, came up with the idea that as Rufe was elderly and no longer was able to get around very well, I should pick up his mail for him.

Richland did not have home delivery of mail. In fact, it wasn’t until shortly after we moved to Race Street that the borough actually assigned numbers to our houses. We had never had a street address on West Main Street, but we finally had one at 108 South Race Street.

But we still didn’t have mail delivery.

We had to rent a mailbox at the Post Office and pick up our mail there.

We’d use 108 S. Race Street as our address and the folks at the Post Office would have to convert that into the correct mailbox number when they sorted the mail.

Rufe had a mailbox and I was given the combination, and since I was the one who usually picked up our mail anyway, it was no big deal to pick up Rufe’s mail as well. He usually didn’t get very much anyway. 

The Post Office personnel, of course, were alerted to this just in case Rufe should get any mail that wouldn’t fit into his mailbox, as then I’d have to go to the window to pick it up. Most people in a small town do not know everyone else, but perhaps one exception to that rule is the Post Office workers, who probably know a very high percentage of folks.

In any case, they all knew me and they knew Rufe’s situation so there was never any problem with me picking up his mail.

Then one day the RCA Record Club came out with an introductory offer that was way better than most other record or book club offers. Usually when a record or book club made an introductory offer in those days, it was something like get three (or some other number of) books (or records) now and agree to buy at least that many more in the next six months or year before you were allowed to cancel your membership.

But this offer was different. It was two records for 99 cents with no obligation to buy any more; you could cancel immediately after you received the two records.

As it happened there were several more than two records listed in that introductory offer that I thought I’d like.

After sending in my order for two records, well, you know me, bright ideas just pop into my head and I keep thinking…

Seems a downright shame.

I mean if you can cancel right after receiving the first shipment, and well why not. What harm can it do?

So I filled out another one for Rufe Robinson and sent that in.

I must admit that I got a very strange look from the Post Office employee when I picked up Rufe’s record shipment at the Post Office, but I got it home, sent off the check for 99 cents and cancelled the membership.

And that was that.

Now I’ve come to realize that what I did back then was possibly not quite, uh, kosher. It might in a very strict reading of the letter of the law come under something very much akin to, oh, say, mail fraud.

But that didn’t occur to me at the time.

And I’m sure that the statute of limitations has long since passed.

I mean, it has, hasn’t it?