Solicitation

We seldom lack for mail. Only on a rare day does the mailman bypass our house. Yet there are others who watch and wait for the mailperson who rarely stops. Many seniors fall into this category. Too bad we can't equalize matters. I'd be happy to share some of our mail.

Yesterday, we received a somewhat typical amount of mail. Let me share it with you because you no doubt can empathize with me. Unsolicited mail, spam, advertising and phone calls are not going away soon, if ever.

Here's our mail for one day. A pitch from Vice President Al Gore. Then we heard from AARP who wants my wife to participate in a program called Car Fit (designed to make you more comfortable in your car and a safer driver). The next envelope said DO NOT TAMPER Pending Congressional Action on "The Social Security Preservation Act." It wants our opinion and a check.

Then we got a second Reader's Digest Renewal Rate Adjustment notice. Watch out for those "convenient" automatic renewal programs out there. Next: an Express Lane Grocery brochure with "more coupons inside." Colonial Williamsburg (we visited there several years ago) wants to send us a special gift of a train case for a specified donation.

Barron's wants me to receive the newsstand Plus Online Rate of $389.00 for only $52.00, a mere $1.00 per week. And then I received a 2009 Regional Taxpayer Survey (7 questions with 8 pages of reading material and an opportunity to contribute anything from $15.00 to $1,000.00 or more). The main thrust? Grandparents Against Political Indoctrination in America's Public Schools. Last item, the August 2009 issue of PCWorld (solicited).

My senior moment arrives almost everyday when the mailman stops, or the phone rings with no ID, or an unsolicited maybe malicious email beckons my time, energy and money. Yet we have to separate junk from the good stuff.

Then we have to decide which of the good stuff we should consider, if any (we simply can't respond to every legitimate solicitation).

Solicitation comes in many forms, some insidious, and is here to stay. Our response is not always easy but should be judicious (wise and careful).