Adventures in Sioux City

I had received a package from a company containing 40 Days for Life apparel. I realized that the items were unnecessary, so as soon as I received it in the mail I thought I would simply write “return to sender” and not have to pay shipping costs to send it back. It was shipped through UPS so I went to the UPS Store to discuss my decision.


I arrived at the store around 4:40 pm hoping to drop the package off and send it back on its way. Easy enough. I checked with the woman at the counter to make sure that I didn’t need to repackage anything since it had not opened. She said, with a cheerful voice, as she looked it over, “Nope, if you haven’t opened it you can go ahead and send it back without paying for it...”

“Great,” I thought.

She continued, ‘So all you need to do is go find a UPS man and you can hand it to him.”

If you could only see the confused look on my face and smirk on my lips as I looked to the other employee. In my mind, I was picturing myself driving around this town for forty minutes until I happened to pull up next to a brown UPS at a stop light. At that point, in my vision, I would have to roll down my window and convince the UPS man that the package was free of all drugs and weapons and that it would be great if he could do a girl a favor and take it back to Texas.

The other employee (interrupting my vision) confirmed that the simple solution to sending my package was to find a UPS driver. Considering I was in a UPS store, I also stared blankly at her.

“Of course,” she continued, “you can go to the terminal on the other side of town. All you have to do is drive down this road take a left, followed by a right, followed by another right, merge onto the highway, and it’ll be on your left.”

“Oh.” I said, “I am new to the area, so could you write that address down for me.” She grabbed a pen and wrote down the address handing it to me with a smile.

“And actually,” she said, “The UPS truck will be here in about 30 minutes if you just want to wait around for him.”

“No thanks, I think I’ll just go to the terminal.” I replied, “Have a good evening.” The terminal sounded more adventurous anyway. Several tv shows featuring secret agents tend to have fight scenes that occur in large warehouses on the edge of town. I thought that this opportunity would give me one more chance to meet Jack Bauer.

I got into my car and grabbed my dad’s GPS, thankful that I had “forgotten” to return it last time I was home, plugged in the address and, of course, had to call my mother and sister to tell them what was happening: Not only, could I not send something at a UPS Store, but also that I was expected to chase down a UPS truck and give it to the driver personally.

I got off the phone with my sister as I pulled into the terminal parking lot. It seemed suspiciously quiet, but that was probably due to my overactive imagination.

I walked in the door and waited a little while for someone to come and help me. I told them about my package and the woman gladly took it and sent it on its way. Before I left, I decided to ask her why I couldn’t leave it at the UPS Store. She told me that the UPS Store is owned by UPS, but is a franchise, and something and someone and…(I think I spaced out while she was describing it to me). She was very convincing, however, and very, very friendly so I thanked her for her information. She told me that she would rather see me at the terminal anyway, which of course, made me feel better about myself. We both laughed as I exited the building and walked to my car.