'This is a little like tax day'

John C. Ensslin

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Javier Manzano / The Rocky

Eric Bartczak kneels beside a stack of packages as he waits in line at the Cherry Creek post office on Monday. He has family scattered all over the East Coast and said he wanted to get his holiday packages in the mail. Metro-area post offices expected to take in 3.8 million packages by midnight Monday.

Darin McGregor / The Rocky

Regina Jones loads packages onto an automated sorter Monday at the Denver Bulk Mail Center. For the past two weeks, the center has been processing about 500,000 packages, parcels and envelopes each day.

Monday was P-Day for the U.S. Postal Service.

P for packages. By midnight, the metro area expected to take in about 3.8 million packages, the second-heaviest volume, behind Phoenix.

P for Priority Mail, which is what most people were using to ensure their packages arrive on time.

And P for procrastinators, who still have some time left but will pay a pretty penny to ensure delivery from here on.

Here are some prize-winning postcard images from P-Day, most of them from the main branch at 20th and Curtis streets.

* Most unusual destination for a package

Barnegat Light House, New Jersey

* Farthest destinations

The Philippines, South Africa and many packages to soldiers in Iraq.

* Best random act of kindness

A man helped lift a box off a stack of three that Kristi McCoy lugged toward the counter. "I always buy the heaviest things," McCoy said.

"Sometimes the right gift is the heaviest one."

* Best time-saving move

Confronted by a long line at a post office on Alameda, Mary Beth Doubet cut her wait to just under 10 minutes by hitting the main branch around 4 p.m.

* Strangest holiday package so far

About 130 one-pound boxes of M&M's. Postal worker Randall Burton spent about an hour helping a man box and stamp each box.

* Largest transaction of the day

One man mailed several thousand dollars of money orders.

* Smallest transaction of the day

The purchase of a pair of 2 cent stamps.

* Best performance by a procrastinator

"For me, this would be early. But since I've been married, it's kind of late because my wife really has her act together." - Desi Starr as he made his way to the counter with five packages and a pocket full of cards.

* Best expression of surprise at a short line

"This is amazing. I was expecting a barrel of monkeys."

-Dixon Shays, who powered through the line at the Buchtel Boulevard post office in Denver in less than 20 minutes.

* Best overheard conversation

Woman: "This is a little like tax day."

Man: "Yes, but less expensive."