Where's My Check Part 2

Ok, I got an official looking envelope from the US treasury, yesterday. It was addressed to both of us, with the last 4 digits of our taxpayer number, so there was no doubt what it contained.

I had just received the quarterly real estate tax bill the day before, and unexpected auto repairs last week had nearly depleted our discretionary expense account. The timing couldn't be better.

The government envelope had been wedged between sheaves of drenched junk mail, so, despite the torrential rains, it remained relatively dry. I rejoiced in anticipation of the long-awaited economic stimulus bonus check that would help turn our economy around to save our retirement nest egg.

Not that the mail carrier cared. He was one of those bitter, unfriendly civil servants who hate their jobs and spend most of their time on the job calculating the number of days to go until they can retire. Whenever it rains, I noticed that he never makes the slightest effort to keep the mail covered. He just walks a normal pace to each house on the street with the mail held out, unprotected, looking miffed because he was out slogging in the rain, hungry and cold, while we - the affluent residents of his route are probably languishing inside our pricey dry McMansions, not working, making grilled cheese sandwiches and watching The View.

Into each mailbox, he angrily stuffs the clutch of soggy catalogs and bills. Maybe he thinks he is living up to the Post Office credo of reliable, relentless service through rain, sleet, whatever.
Maybe he grudgingly feels he is doing a service, but I would rather wait for a nice day and get dry mail, instead of "[bleep] you - here's your [bleeping] wet mail!" But the excitement of getting my stimulus check wiped out any trivial annoyance over minor aggravations such as wet mail.

When I opened the envelope to find a letter and no check, my high expectations were crushed like a Corvair in a junkyard. Here's what the letter said:

"The check is in the mail" The letter was dated June 23 and it said that the check was scheduled for June 27 - but may take six weeks...don't call until then.

Now, I know most of you have given up trying to figure out why the government does what it does, but I still demand rationality. Was this letter supposed to give me some useful information? Or was it just another waste of taxpayer money?

And, where the hell is my check?