Surprise From Post Office

Well, the US Post Office has been up to their old tricks again. That is not getting the mail where it is supposed to go ---- ON TIME. On Feb. 19, 2011 I got a Christmas card from a friend and it was mailed out of Houston, Texas. The surprise part was that it was post marked on Dec. 08, 2010. That means it took about 10 weeks for the Christmas card to go from Houston, TX to Rio Rancho, NM. That is longer than it would have taken to cross the US a hundred years ago, or even longer ago.
I will add that there was nothing wrong with the way my address was writen on the envelope. There was no indication that it had been caught in a P. O. machine and torn nor did it have any damage of any kind to the envelope.
So why did it take so long to go about 850 miles?
I called the US Post Office 800 number and of course was told to sit in my house and wait for a phone call from my post office within the next 24 hours. I said I couldn't just sit and wait. They said I had to if I wanted a phone call. Finally, after about 48 hours, I called (and I didn't just sit and wait but I do have an answering machine and there hadn't been a message from them on it) to be told that there was no way to know or even guess what had happened.
And that was that. Again I have no answer as to why something was late getting to me, or why it was damaged, or why I get the neighbors mail and they get mine, or why the package or letter I sent somewhere never got there. Or why the streets here all have number names with directionals like SE, SW, NW so that all mail gets mixed up, or why the people that live at the other address can't learn to give out the correct directional on their address so I don't get their mail.(do they think I'll pay their bills well I won't).
Thank you for letting me rant and rave about the PO again.