Leaving San Diego XLIII

Today was Sunday. We did not go to church, so I read my Bible while eating my breakfast of toast with spun honey and cinnamon, coffee, an apple and milk. Today's road trip would take us to Utica, home of Starved Rock State Park...a round-trip of 56 miles, according to Lee. We were traveling at our usual speed of 44 mph as we inched past all the rural houses. I was getting bored, but decided to pay attention to see if there was something new to be learned. I then began to notice the wide variety in mailbox posts. Most were ordinary 4x4 wooden posts with white paint. But then I noticed a "chain" standing on end. The links seemed to be of one-and-one-half-inch diameter iron, welded together. A giant hook on top reared its head like a cobra. The mailbox rested on top of the hook. It looked like the farmer was proud of his arc-welding skills and wanted to show off a little. I had no problem with that. I would have done the same thing. I then spotted another post with aluminum siding, resembling a grain elevator beside railroad tracks. Yet another looked like a fortified concrete bunker with brick and mortar construction. I thought it should support a large-caliber machine gun instead of a box for mail. No doubt its predecessor had been knocked over many times by an elderly neighbor who backed by the "touch-and-feel" system. Then another chain post, but of smaller link chain, welded together in a curvy "S" shape. It also seemingly defied common sense and gravity....... well, maybe just gravity.