The "The End Of The Road For The Big Brown Box" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Finally heading home from Lindenmyr Paper Company in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania with the big brown box in the back.  No big deal to most of you, but to me it was the end of a long summer of miscues.  All began in mid-June when my friend Mike and I got together to work on the in-house printing needs for the Manheim Township School District.  We print just about everything and anything that they may need for the next school year.  Hall passes, envelopes, excuse cards...you name it and we probably printed it in the high school print shop where I taught Graphic Arts and Photography for 33 years.  I've been retired now for twenty years and Mike, who taught Elementary and Middle School for almost as long, has been working with me in the summer months for close to 35 years now.  We always begin the summer months going to all the schools as well as the District Office to get orders for what they will need for the next school year.  We then make a list of all the paper needs and I place a call to a local paper company, Lindenmyr, with the order.  A few days later the paper arrived late afternoon and I found it the next morning when I arrived.  I placed all the paper around the room on counters and desks with the offset press plate for that particular job on top of it.  It was at that time that I found I had one big brown box of large 9" x 12" Kraft envelopes remaining with no plate for it.  I questioned Mike and we were stumped.  A few days later I found I needed more paper for a few new jobs sent to us so I placed another call to the paper company.  Placed that order and told them I was going to return the big brown box of envelopes they had sent me for a credit.  

The big brown box of 9"x12" Kraft envelopes.

Girl on the other end of the line didn't say anything for a few seconds and then said, "We don't sell any envelopes in big brown boxes!"  I told her they were delivered with the rest of what we ordered.  She told me to bring them back and when I went to get the second smaller order I gave the big brown box to the fellow at the "Will Call" door.  He didn't have a credit slip for me, but I figured I'd be getting one in the mail.  Weeks later and summer was drawing to a close as we began to deliver the jobs that we had printed for all the schools.  I delivered all the high school materials and when the secretary saw everything she asked, "Where's the big brown box of envelopes I sent to the shop at the beginning of the summer?"  Ah, Ha!  Seems that a custodian brought the big brown box to the shop after the delivery had arrived and placed it on the top of all the other paper.  I just assumed it had come from the paper company, but I had assumed wrong.  Now what.  The secretary gave me another big brown box of envelopes which I printed and I then called the paper company to ask what might have happened to the big brown box I had returned two months earlier.  They would be back to me soon, they said.  In the meantime I checked and found that the school had never received a credit for the big brown box I had returned.  So...I called and attempted to explain to the girl at the order desk what had happened.  She told me she was transferring me to Tammy, the Operations Manager.  Shortly I was telling her what you just read.  I also told her we have been buying paper from Lindenmyr for years and years.  She promised me she would find out what happened to the big brown box and get back to me.  The rest of the day passed and I just about gave up hope of hearing from Tammy.  Nest day, just before noon I was sitting in my chair at home watching "The Price Is Right" when the phone rang.  Read Lindenmyr on the screen and I answered.  I answered, "Hello", and I heard, "I found the big brown box and you can pick it up at the "Will Call" door at your convenience.  I thanker Tammy and grabbed the keys to the car.  Tomorrow I will return the big brown box of unprinted envelopes to the high school office and the problem will have been solved.  You know...it might be a good time to retire...permanently!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an oridnary guy.