I sent a check to my doctor's billing office around June 25. As of yesterday (August 11), it hasn't been cashed. I got a reminder call about the balance two weeks ago. Sent another check this week.
The office is about 25 miles away.

My sister sends me a check every month for a thing related to our mother's estate. She lives three miles away. The July one never showed up. Three. Miles. Away. August one showed up in less than a week.

Several times a week, I have to tell clients that their redemption checks are going to take two or three weeks to arrive, even though they're sent out the next day.

Sometimes I think about how, back in the '70s, first-class mail was supposed to get anywhere in the lower 48 in one or two business days...