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Smith: Neighborhood postmen still goodwill ambassadors

Posted: Sunday, April 28, 2002

   Several years ago, I got to know a nice lady in Kansas City, one of the movers and shakers in that midwestern metropolis. For years, she sent me a nice Christmas ornament, which we always hung on our tree.




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Last year she didn't send one. I wondered if there might have been some problem, but I moved into the New Year and forgot about it. A few days ago her letter with the ornament arrived. The post office was late delivering it because of a change of zip code.

   I can tell you from this experience and a couple more similar situations that if you don't get the zip code right, it ain't going to get there. My presumption is that everything is managed mechanically and electronically these days. The post office must be like everybody else. If you can't do it with a computer, you can't get the job done.

   And it cost 34 cents to mail a letter these days. If you mail a few hundred letters, you have spent some money. Is this why cell phones have proliferated? My suggestion is make all the junk mailers send their poop without bulk mailing privilege. I know that would cut down on some of the junk going through the system. And another thing, eliminate the franking privilege for Congress. That ought to eliminate any budget deficits the post office might have.

   After all, congressmen don't seem to get anything done. So why do they send out all that mail bragging about what they have gotten accomplished. I'd like for them to send letters explaining why they didn't do what they should have done. The franking machine would run hot from overuse.

   It wasn't too long ago that we had such a thing as a penny postcard. When it went, a lot of things went with it.

   Can you remember when your postman was one of the most popular members in the community. Kind to all the children. If you needed someone to climb a ladder and get your cat out of a tree, if the postman came by about that time, he would handle the problem.

   Based on what I have observed lately, the postmen in our neighborhoods still have not changed all that much. They still are made up of goodwill attitudes, manners and have a smile for everybody.

   How about rural free delivery? Do we still have that? Commonly referred to as ''RFD,'' this was a big deal in the old days. Free delivery of your mail was something special. Everybody on the farm looked forward to the mail unless there were a lot of bills coming in.

   The postman also brought you, via RFD, the Sears Roebuck catalogue. That was like getting fruitcake at Christmas. Couldn't do without it.

   But there is some liability with postal work. Something called vicious dogs. Every postman had to be quick on his feet in the old days, but usually they scouted out the streets which had the bad dogs.

   I remember a postman story when a dog attacked a postman, had him on the ground with his teeth clamping down on the man's throat when the lady of the house came out and rescued him.

   ''I'm so sorry,'' she explained. ''We don't know what we are going to do. He is so mean. Last month we had him castrated.''

   Replied the postman, ''Lady did you think about pulling his teeth? I knew when he came around the corner of the house that he wasn't going to seduce me.''



Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Sunday, April 28, 2002.


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