[SamAdams76]

The news is crushing in many remote communities where the post office is often the heart of the town and the closest link to the rest of the country. Shuttering them, critics say, also puts an enormous burden on people, particularly on the elderly, who find it difficult to travel out of town.

I think the author of this piece must be at least 60 years old. The post office hasn't been the center of anything since maybe Douglas, Alabama in 1953. These days in small towns, people meet in coffee shops, diners and maybe the Wal-Mart.

So what exactly is it that we get in the U.S. Mail these days that can't be obtained online, sent through email or in the rare instance, sent UPS or FedEx?

The US Postal Service has been rendered obsolete by the internet and by private enterprise (FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc.). It's only apparent purpose is to allow mass marketers to send billions of pieces of bulk junk mails cheaply.

Shut down the US Mail entirely. Then I can remove my mailbox from the front of my house (the one that occasionally gets whacked by kids driving by with baseball bats).

[EDINVA]

If your definition of a small town is one that includes coffee shops, diners, and a WalMart, you don’t know from small towns!

I have lived in a small town. It had the Post Office, 2 grocery stores and a service station. That was it. Folks would have to drive @ 10 miles to find a diner. Or another 25-30 miles for a WalMart.