Box in a suitcase

My representative in the United States Congress is Carolyn B. Maloney.

I must admit that until today, i didn't know that basic, important piece of information.

I live in lower Manhattan, where the Congressional districts are tightly packed and unevenly drawn. The maps that are available don't show street names, so it is difficult to tell whether one lives in the 8th, 14th, or 12th district. The websites of the representatives aren't much help, either. I used the "Do You Live In My District" search on Rep. Maloney's site, which told me that I was "Maybe" in her district. I had to call another congresswoman's office in order to find out that I was, in fact, represented by Maloney.
That established, I tried to send Ms. Maloney my thoughts on her recent vote for the $700 billion bailout package.

Her "Contact" information is a web form, which requires you to select from a list of pre-determined topics (none of which are appropriate, of course) and type into a tiny box, rather than providing an actual email address. It asks you to subscribe to her newsletter, and choose from topics including "Animals," "Arts & Culture," "Breastfeeding," and "Israel." What it doesn't do is fill you with any confidence that the message has been delivered or that it will actually be read.

My message in a bottle dutifully floated away, I decided to call her office and see if there were a more effective way of having my tiny voice heard.
Calling at 1:45 on a Tuesday afternoon, I got a voice recording that her office was closed, but I could press "10" to leave a message in the general mailbox. Another lengthy recording later, I waited for the beep, only to get a third recording telling me that the mailbox was full, and I could not leave a message.

I suppose I can stop by in person sometime, perhaps slide a note under the door or stick a post-it on the glass.

It hardly seems like my representative is interested in hearing from me, much less actually representing me.

I hope there's someone good that I can vote for instead of her next time.