Delivery Blues - Aarsen

“We can’t deliver to P.O. Boxes. You have to have an address.”The FedEx person is on the other end of the phone. They have a parcel for me and they can’t deliver it to the address I’ve given. I’m suppressing sighs of frustration. I can Google any place on earth and zoom in on a car in San Francisco, I can send complex files all the way around the world, but FedEx can’t grasp the nuances of a person who lives out in the country away from paved streets, streetlights and door to door delivery.

“You won’t deliver to my address.”

“Ma’am, we deliver anywhere.”

Obviously this Fed Ex employee has seen Castaway one too many times. “Just use my P.O. Box. It’s a manned post office. Someone will be there to receive the package.”

“Can’t deliver to a P.O. Box, ma’am. I need an address. We will deliver to an address.”

“Not to this address you won’t.”

“We will deliver to an address.”

So, just because I’m feeling ornery I rattle off our legal land description. Lengthy pause. “I’m sorry. We can’t deliver to that address.”

And we’re back to the beginning. According to FedEx, Purolater and any delivery people, I live where No and Where intersect. A place where DSL is just a dream. Cable television? Not going to happen. Cell phone reception? Spotty at best. We have satellite radio, satellite internet and, if I wanted, satellite television.

One could say, without much exaggeration, that it’s a long reach from my home to New York, the publishing hub of the world. And yet, in spite of living in such a remote area, last month I celebrated the publication of my 20th book. Two of the three publishers I write for are based in New York. The third in Nashville with offices in New York. When I first dreamt of writing a book, of being published, I thought it would stay as that. A dream. I thought I lived too far away from where the important publishing people congregated for publication to come my way. But it has. I’ve worked hard, and I’ve been blessed richly. I was encouraged by friends and family and spurred on by the thought that this dream had come true for other writers. I’m humbled and thankful for this milestone and I guess what I’m trying to say is - location, location, location - these are words used only by real estate agents. Location doesn’t have much to do with writing. With publishing. Sometimes my location has been a huge advantage in that I don’t have the distractions of city life. Sometimes my location has been a disadvantage in that I don’t have the opportunity to connect face to face with other writers and many promotion and publicity opportunities pass me by. Or the Fed Ex person.

However, I’m thankful for where I live and the inspiration I receive from it as well as the material it gives me to use in my books. I love my location. Even if FedEx doesn’t.