The following letter was sent to the Oak Bluffs postmaster.

After our unfortunate shouting match on Saturday, I wanted to follow up to briefly state my concern about how I and the other lady in line at a few seconds after 4:30 p.m. were treated.

As you all said, the post office there is short staffed at the moment, and service is affected by that.

What I find curious, though — given that you are keenly aware of your limitations, given the staffing issue — is why you could not make allowances for it . . . like maybe keeping the window open a few minutes past the 4:30 p.m. cutoff.

Now, I know the man in charge said that he had checked and there was no one in line at 4:30 p.m. I came in at about 4:29 p.m. and rushed to my box and found a yellow paper indicating I had mail.

And I rushed to the window while a customer was being served. There was one woman in front of me. And as soon as the customer at the window was served, the window slammed.

I would have thought under the circumstances — the staffing problem — the person at the window might have called out just to make sure there was no one out there. That didn’t happen and when I knocked on the window, the exchange about it escalated to a level that bothered me, not least because I had a medical issue a few weeks ago and urgently needed a medical report from where the examination took place. It was addressed to the hospital and I called the hospital daily to find out if the requisite information arrived. It had not. And that increased my anxiety level tremendously.

I assume it was the short-handedness that affected that final delivery. But I have also been told by countless other Oak Bluffers that they have experienced similar delays, albeit not necessarily as critical as mine.

So this letter is to say that I am extremely concerned about what is going on there and the reaction to my concern the other day.

I have always have a good relationship with all who work at the post office and want that to continue. But I also would like to make a suggestion that until you are back up to full staffing, your normal hard and fast rule about shutting down precisely at 4:30 p.m., if there is someone in the line who indicates they are still there, be reconsidered. You can make it clear that this does not mean that long lines of people will have to be accommodated. What I have learned in all the years I have lived on the Vineyard is that Vineyarders are very understanding people and are not prone to taking advantage. And I am sure that is the reason that everybody except the woman ahead of me and I were the only two people waiting to be served. And I am sure people here would not take advantage of that.

I am simply asking that while we understand your short-handedness at this time, you consider making a few minor adjustments. Knowing the people of Oak Bluffs, I don’t think they would take advantage.

Charlayne Hunter-Gault

Oak Bluffs