Sunday, March 22, 2009

Route with a View

Here are a few scenes from life on the route. I love working from my office on wheels. There's so much to see out there. More to come later.

One of the MANY dogs on my route - with his favorite toy - part of a 4 x 4 post.

I know it's not a very good picture but this really is the Space Shuttle going in for a landing at a local Air Force base.

Hay rolls in a flooded field - looks like they are floating in a pond.

Black cat in a white swing - with just his head and ears showing.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Mail Primer


OK. Listen up, people. This is how it works. This is my EMPTY mail case, fresh as it is every morning.
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This is the mail -- on a cart, fresh off of the truck that delivers every morning.

This is also the mail, pulled from the cart, fresh off of the truck that delivers every morning.



This is some of the mail -- in stacks and trays.


TA-DA! This is after I have magically put all those magazines, catalogs, and letters into one of any of the over 400 slots in my case. Correctly, with no mistakes. haha! So easy even a caveman can do it. Or not.

Oh, yeah. Here it is all loaded up and ready to be delivered. Woo-hoo.

Amazing Grac- uh - Grader?


One road on my route is a long, lonely dirt/gravel mess that has to be graded after every rain...and after weeks of no rain. The man who usually grades it is... well... you decide.
I was toodling along the other day, going about 20 mph, on the wrong side of the road (to stay out of the "graded-up rubbish"). I see the parked grader way up the road, the driver standing in the shade of it. As I slowly approach (trying to keep the dust to a minimum), he begins to flag me down. Oh, boy. Should I? Or, not? I have heard rumors about him. I decide to see if they are true. So I stop. Roll down my window just a bit (my doors are locked).
"Hello, there, ma'am," he says, and introduces himself. I look him over carefully from behind my sunglasses. He's an older fellow, long pointy nose, and bald head.
"On my lunch break, I work for Jesus. Can I talk to you about him and your soul?"
Yep! Rumors were true!
I smile. "Well, I appreciate the offer, but I already have a good relationship with Him."
"Well, praise the Lord! And you've been saved?"
I nodded.
"And you go to Sunday School and church like he wants us to do after we've been saved?"
I'm still nodding. And easing the Jeep forward, easing forward.
"Well, praise the Lord!" And he steps back into the shade of his road grader, his hands clasped and head bowed in prayer.
You know you are a RURAL mail carrier when you have been approached by a road-grading evangelist. God Is Truly Everywhere!

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Blah, blah, blah


Some days I feel like I'm a talking head. Just shoulders and a head riding in a Jeep. Oh yeah, with arms, too. Got to have arms and hands to deliver all that wonderful mail. huh
Example: I was shopping at Wal-Mart one day, pushing my cart, minding my own business when I spied one of my customers. I stopped to speak to them. I was greeted with a blank stare. I knew the problem. Explained that I was their mail carrier. Light bulb comes on. "Oh, yeah! Well, I didn't recognize you without a Jeep window frame around you." ha-ha

Another one: I see one of my customers at a small convenience store. "Hey, are you the mail lady?" (He's looking at my ID badge.) "Yes, I am. How are you today?" "Oh, fine. I didn't recognize you standing up!" (Excuse me?) I looked around to see if anyone else heard him. (I don't want folks to think he WOULD recognize me lying down!) I say, "That's OK. No one recognizes me when I'm outside of my Jeep." (Sheesh.)