"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds"

But my new mailbox does.

We've been smoothing the ruffled feathers of our letter carrier since the reno began. On day one, we agreed that a large tupperware container left at the end of the driveway would be a suitable temporary solution as she refused to walk up the driveway during construction. She later insisted that the box be placed a minimum of 3 ft above the ground, as per union rules. I propped it on the corner of the tree barrier and delivery continued again.
Once the trades were well and truly finished and there were no more vehicles, table saws or anything else in the driveway, I moved the bin to the front door. I forgot about the 3 ft rule and got another note; I put the bin on a stand. Delivery resumed again.
The day we installed the permanent mailbox on the wall beside the front door, it actually crossed my mind that such a lovely box would please our disgruntled carrier. What a nice surprise for her, I thought!
That was when delivery stopped altogether. I waited a few days. Was I parked too closely to the door for the regulation access width perhaps? I moved the van as far as possible from the door, but still no mail.
I submitted an irregular delivery service ticket. A reply the next business day said that my ticket was closed. That's it.
Still, no mail.
Yet another day later, I received a voicemail message. Mail would not be delivered until my box was more than  3 ft off the ground and had a lid.

?

I phoned. The service ticket was reopened. It would be solved, I was assured.
The local branch was closed at this point -- it was almost 2 in the afternoon after all -- so I went there today. First thing this morning. I got a large stack of mail, a promise that the supervisor would chat with the carrier in question, and what seemed like a sincere apology.
What I didn't get today, was any mail in my mailbox.

!