The sixty-first episode of TaleSpin.
Rebecca wins a sweepstakes worth $100,000.00, but in order to win the money, she has to mail the winning ticket to Pazuza before the next day deadline. When Molly's school play interferes with Rebecca being able to mail the ticket, Rebecca worries that Baloo will mess up this important job. When Molly suggets that Rebecca tell Baloo it's a regular, non-important job, Baloo takes this seriously and spends most of the $20.00 Rebecca gives him on fast food, leaving him only able to afford the post office's 18th Class service, which hasn't been used in 40 years and takes ten weeks to deliver. When Baloo realizes his mistake, he tries to speed up the mail delivery.
This episode provides examples of:
- Acronym Confusion: When Baloo and Kit arrive at the post office, they try to remember S.S.T.I.S.D.D., but at first say such acronyms as S.S.I.T.T.U.D. and D.U.D.S.S.I.G. before simultaneously remembering the correct acronym.
- The Alleged Car: A variant; Matilda, the plane Ralph attempts to uses to deliver Rebecca's letter, falls apart in mid-air as a result of not being used in 40 years. As a result, Baloo has to use the Sea Duck to deliver the letter to Pazuza.
- Alliterative Name: The captain of the S.S. Rocket, 18th Class' delivery boat is named Grindstone Griff.
- Big Eater: On their way to the post office, Baloo and Kit stop by Paul's fast-food restaurant, where Baloo orders a dozen burgers with double cheese, triple fries, and five pies. He then asks Kit if he wants some food.
- Downer Ending: This episode ends with Rebecca losing her $100,000.00 cash prize as a result of Baloo arriving at the Pazuza sweepstakes office just a few seconds too late. Baloo and Rebecca also find out too late that they have a second chance of winning the money by giving the 18th Class stamp to Pazuza, as Baloo has already thrown the stamp in the trash, just as the garbage truck pulls away after collecting it.
- Fun with Acronyms: S.S.T.I.S.D.D. stands for Super Speed Triple Insured Same Day Delivery.
- Hand Gagging: When Baloo is about to board the Sea Duck with Ralph and Rebecca's letter, Rebecca sees him and suspects that the letter Ralph is holding looks just like the one Baloo mailed. Ralph tries to tell her it is, but Baloo clamps his hand over Ralph's mouth.
- Hope Spot:
- When Baloo and Kit rush back to the post office to take back their letter, the clerk tells them that he can't do that since the letter is already on its way to Pazuza. Kit asks the clerk when it will arrive there, and he tells him "8:00 tomorrow morning." Baloo and Kit are relieved to hear this, but then the clerk clarifies "If you'd sent it S.S.T.I.S.D.D., but 18th Class, about ten weeks. Seven with good behavior.", much to their horror.
- At the end of the episode, Rebecca receives a letter from the Pazuza sweepstakes office, saying it's interested in buying her 18th Class stamp for $100,000.00. Rebecca is relieved that she will be getting the money after all, and asks Baloo where the stamp is. Baloo tells her "I threw it in the trash!", and the garbage truck takes the stamp away, meaning it's too late to get it back.
- It's All My Fault: When Rebecca finds out that Baloo didn't get her letter mailed on time, she blames herself, saying that she should have just told him what was in the letter, but she didn't trust him.
- Loophole Abuse: When Baloo tries to deliver the letter himself, the head postal clerk of the 18th Class division tells him that tampering with the mail is a federal offense, and only postal employees can touch mail in transit, so Baloo does everything short of touching the letter to speed up the delivery, including having Ralph seated in his lap to operate the Sea Duck.
- Made of Explodium: When the S.S. Rocket crashes into a bell buoy as a result of Baloo lassoing a speedboat to pull it, the S.S. Rocket explodes.
- Never Win the Lottery: Rebecca wins $100,000.00 in a lottery, but Baloo puts her chances of winning the money in jeopardy when he botches cashing in the winning ticket, spending most of the money for the postage on fast food and the only service he could afford would arrive long after the deadline.
- No Antagonist: This episode is about Baloo struggling to get a letter delivered on time after being unable to afford the express shipping.
- Obfuscating Disability: When Baloo arrives at Higher For Hire five hours late, he dresses himself in bandages and covers himself in ketchup to make it look like he was brutally injured so Rebecca won't be mad at him. Fortunately for him, she's too excited about getting her ticket mailed to care.
- Oh, Crap!: When the clerk at the post office charges Baloo $17.50 for the S.S.T.I.S.D.D. service, Baloo suddenly realizes that he doesn't have enough money for that, having spent all but two cents on fast food.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Baloo is surprised to find out that Rebecca isn't mad at him for being five hours late. She's just happy to see him, believing that he will mail her ticket to Pazuza in time for the deadline.
- Poor Communication Kills: Rebecca has just won a $100,000.00 sweepstakes prize, but she has to mail her winning ticket to Pazuza by the next day, and she doesn't have the time to do that and take Molly to her school pageant. She has the option of entrusting Baloo with it, but is afraid to do so because Baloo always screws up important tasks. Molly suggests that she ask him to mail the letter but tell him that it isn't important, on the reasoning he won't screw it up if he doesn't know it's important. This results in Baloo taking her advice seriously and spending most of the money on fast food, leaving him only able to send it off on the slowest possible route and forcing him and Kit to fly the ticket to the sweepstake headquarters themselves in a mad panic when Rebecca tells them the truth.
- School Play: Molly gets involved in one, leaving Rebecca unable to mail the winning ticket to Pazuza. It's never revealed what it's about, but it does involve Molly being cast as an artichoke.
- Senior Sleep-Cycle: The employees of the 18th Class division are elderly and as a result, are more prone to falling asleep from having no mail to deliver in 40 years.
- Slower Than a Snail: When Grindstone Griff starts up the S.S. Rocket, it moves so slowly that a mother pushing a baby carriage passes by it on the nearby dock.Grindstone Griff: Full steam ahead!
Baloo: This is full steam?! - Snail Mail: In this episode, Rebecca wins the Pazuza sweepstakes worth $100,000, and plans to use the $17.50 S.S.T.I.S.D.D. postage to get the ticket mailed in time for the sweepstakes' next-day deadline. However, Molly's school play prevents her from being able to mail the ticket herself. When Rebecca worries that Baloo might mess up this important delivery, Molly suggests just telling Baloo that it's a normal 'non-important' job. Baloo takes this seriously and spends most of the $20.00 Rebecca gives him on fast food, leaving him with only two cents. As a result, he is only able to afford the post office's 18th Class service, which hasn't been used in 40 years, and takes ten weeks to deliver. When Baloo realizes his mistake, it's up to him to speed the mail delivery along so that the winning ticket can get delivered to Pazuza in time.
- Tempting Fate: When Baloo is surprised that Rebecca is being so nice to him when she asks him to mail her letter, he tells Kit "Next thing, she'll be telling me to keep the change." Cue Rebecca doing just that.
- Unstoppable Mailman: Baloo's job in the series is to deliver cargo to its destination on time, even if doing so brings harm to himself, such as if the material itself is hazardous or attracts dangerous people, like the Air Pirates. In this episode, Baloo all but becomes a mailman himself to ensure that Rebecca's letter is delivered to the Pazuza sweepstakes office on time. Ralph himself recites the mailman's code of honor as Baloo helps him deliver the letter.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: While many of Baloo's get-rich-quick schemes are successful, the prize is always taken away by some unfortunate stroke of luck. First, Baloo ends up reaching the Pazuza sweepstakes office a few seconds too late, leaving Rebecca unable to win the sweepstakes. Then, after Baloo finds out that the radio station will pay $100,000.00 for his 18th Class stamp, he realizes he threw said stamp in the trash, and the garbage truck collects it, leaving him unable to get it back.
