by Madison McAllister

In Handle With Care, a very important package goes missing. We’ve all had packages or letters get lost in the mail. Here are a few especially strange lost mail stories:

THE WORLD WAR II LOVE LETTER – A British serviceman, Charles Fleming, sent a letter to his ‘dearest’ in 1945. His letter and photographs he included arrived in Lakenheath, England at the Royal Air Force base in 2009. The 64-year delay was caused by a redirection at the Royal Mail sorting office in Peterborough.

THE EMPEROR’S MAIL – It seems common sense that a French Emperor who has been dead for 192 years cannot collect his mail. But on Dec. 2, 2013, the French government sent a census form to “Napoleon Bonaparte” at 3 Rue Saint Charles in Ajaccio, Corsica (the emperor’s birthplace). The person now living at that address rejected the letter with this helpful note: “Died in 1821 — please forward to Saint Peter.”

LOST LETTER FROM JOHN LENNON – John Lennon wrote a supportive letter to an aspiring young folk singer, Steve Tilston, in 1971. This was a response to an interview with Tilston where he said he worried that wealth and fame might harm his songwriting. Lennon gave the advice, “Being rich doesn’t change your experiences in the way you think.” Tilston didn’t see the letter until 34 years later because it was addressed to Tilston and the interviewer at the offices of the British rock music magazine, ZigZag. This story inspired the 2015 movie, Danny Collins, starring Al Pacino.

SPECIAL DELIVERY… FROM THE US GOVERNMENT – Sometimes neighbors accidentally get each other’s mail. And sometimes, they accidentally get drone parts belonging to the U.S. government. At least that’s what happened when one man got a mysterious package on his doorstep in May 2014. It contained what appeared to be a set of wings and a remote controller. UPS claimed the package’s original label fell off during shipping, which could have caused the mistake. Thankfully for UPS, the receiver sent them back to Uncle Sam.

Find out more about the missing package that Ayelet is so anxious to find in Handle With Care, which plays in FST’s Keating Theatre through March 8. For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.