STOP, Possible Thief

Wednesday, as T-Hoe chugged down the gravel road alongside the creek, nearing the blacktop county road junction for our trip to The Gas Station Chicken Store for not-chicken...I saw a red pickup truck at the mailbox row.

Let the record show that our mail carrier does NOT drive a mail jeep. It's usually a woman, in some kind of small SUV. White, I think. The car is not marked or modified for mail delivery. No steering wheel on the opposite side. No lights on top. No markings on the car. There IS, however, a magnetic bumper-stickery rectangle, white with black letters, U.S. MAIL, that she slaps onto the rear of her car. Haphazardly.

This red truck did not at first command my attention. It could have been one of the residents of our compound, picking up his mail. I say that, because the truck was on the wrong side of the road. Like, facing into oncoming traffic. No big deal. Farmer H does that when he's picking up our mail. Pulls up alongside Mailbox Row so he can remain seated in his vehicle, and reach out the window to get the mail out of EmBee.

I didn't recognize the truck, but in the past, there's been a red pickup that goes up our gravel road. I was looking at the side of it before pulling out onto the county road. Couldn't see the back. Couldn't see the license plate. Not that it would have mattered. Because taking a picture of it didn't cross my mind. UNTIL...

I pulled out onto the road, and saw that red pickup truck pull forward. The guy was opening ANOTHER mailbox about 5 boxes away from the first one I'd seen him in. What was going on here? I couldn't have seen if there was a U.S. MAIL bumper-stickery rectangle on the back, because of the angle. I just ASSUMED it was a resident picking up mail. But a resident shouldn't be opening up more than his own mailbox!

Now I'm wondering if I'm going to be missing some mail this month! When I came back from town, there was only one item in EmBee. What if this guy had taken some of my mail? The next day, I had more mail, but only one statement from our credit union. There should have been two. Because The Pony has an account there. So now I have to wonder if they were going to arrive on separate days, even though they were mailed at the same time and place...or if one is never going to arrive.

It's not like I'm expecting any money in the mail. But our bills and account statements have our account numbers on them. And Hillmomba is full of ne'er-do-wells!

I'm pretty sure that red pickup driver was not a substitute mailman. I'm still hoping he was just a resident, picking up his mail. He didn't look at me in a panic, like he was doing something shifty. Then again...maybe he's a hardened criminal with no conscience...

I guess I should just start taking a picture when I see suspicious activity. I have been brainwashed well by the government agenda of SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING.