I found the people at the post office helpful. I realized the alligator they kept in the back room belonged to the government. Every time I paid a mailing fee it was thrown though the door and you could near the jaws of the reptile snapping and gnashing on my money. The cost of mailing was set by the post master. The clerks informed me that a smaller fee was charged for media mail. My books qualified as media mail and I could hear the post office alligator roar his disapproval. I roared back when I found out it now cost 26 cents to send a postcard. It was part of my promotional campaign to send postcards. Not everyone has a computer so U.S. mail is the next best choice. I had to stop to figure out costs and profits. I was morphing into a bean counter. God forbid I become one of these strange people who worship the god Scrooge. When I used to negotiate contracts for the Firefighters Union I had to deal with bean counters. They usually had beady eyes. Their hands were frozen in a curled position with white knuckles from holding the purse strings of the city budget. It never mattered how awful the fire protecytion problems were as long as the costs were kept within budgeted estimates. Bean counters also work for publishers, movie companies, and other busnesses. To me they are a plague upon the world but I will grudgingly say they are a neccessity. I had to come to my senses before I became a bean counter. It was like becoming a zombie wandering around rerpeating the word no over and over again. I became aware of costs but I did not give up my risk taking attitude. I had to find the best way to communicate with buyers of my book.
