The U.S. Postal Service is going, going . . .

Think about it. What have you gotten in your mailbox lately? Mainly promo stuff, right? Ads and credit card come-ons (transfer your account to us and you'll get blah blah blah). Any letters from friends? Anything that used to make a trip to the mailbox enticing?

Friends send us emails. You can pay your bills and do bank transactions online, which is faster.

So what is clogging our mailboxes? (See paragraph 1.)

There was a time when our postal system was the envy of the world. We could deliver a letter across the country in a day or two. But no one writes letters anymore. So why the hurry?

A package? Most of us would rather send it with UPS or FedEx, which give us tracking numbers so we can be sure -- via our computers -- if and when it was delivered.

Does that mean that someday no postman will be putting items in our mailbox? I think so. And it's kind of a shame, but all post-modern institutions are going to have adjust to the new age of electronic devices that keep us in touch with each other, more efficiently and in an instant.

So what is lost? Where's the downside?

I think it's subtle. The interaction with humans, which we all seem to need. As we become more and more electronic-ized (a made-up word), we are going to be spending less and less time with each other, face-to-face. That may seem a small price to pay for the time we save doing everything by ourselves in front of a machine, but I think the price may be bigger, in the long run.

I don't know, but I'd bet that most sociologists -- who study groups and societies -- and most psychologists -- who study you and me and what makes us tick -- would agree that a dependence on machines, at the expense of personal contact, is not a good thing.

For one thing, it goes against our natural tendency to want to be with other people, even if just the people who check us out at the grocery store or sell us stamps. We're always making chit-chat with those people, passing the time, being human.

Machines -- computers, robots, et al -- don't "pass the time". Their time is programmed. There is no "down time". What would a computer do with time on its hands? Play one of those games like Solitaire? Not likely. They would simply shut down and wait for another command.

When the postal service ceases to be, what we will lose is that human contact, that one-to-one interaction with another person. No big deal, maybe. Just one more contact lost. When you and I can order books online and even food, why bother going to the store? It's so much easier done from home. It allows us so much more time for . . . what?

Time with friends? Hobbies? What? When we start to eliminate our opportunities for engaging our fellow humans, we'd better have something rewarding to fill that gap.

Will I miss the postal service? Getting stuff in my mailbox? Well, yes, but not the way it's been going. I used to look forward to seeing the mailtruck pull up: who knew who was writing to me? These days nobody is writing to me. I guess I enjoy the occasional coupon I can use to get 2 for 1 dinners at a pretty good restaurant, but most of what I get are bills, which could easily be delivered to me online.

What will be really sad about the demise of the postal system is the loss of jobs. I can't imagine how many people work for the post office. Tens of thousands? Eventually they'll all be out of a job. Maybe the change-over to e-everything will be gradual, so that most of those workers will just get old and retire. I can't predict how soon the change will come, but you know it's coming, and so should they.

I'm sure there have been other industries that went out of business and stranded lots of workers. Did they see it coming? Do these postal employees? Are they making plans?

Or am I totally off-base? Will the junk mail business keep the postal service going forever? I hope so, but I wouldn't count on it.

All good things come to an end, someone once said. It's just a matter when.