Don was (and is) my favorite letter carrier of all time.
OK, it’s not like he’s gone or anything, but I really miss him. See, his route was changed and he no longer shows up at our letter box with his trademark great smile and kind words.
He always asked how I was doing. But, it always felt like more than that. He sincerely wanted to know how we were — how our son was doing. He delivered scads of magazines (most of which have been cancelled) and junk mail. He piled packages up on our front stoop. He picked up boxes in good and crummy weather. Yes, it is part of his job, but he did it with a super attitude.
What I always enjoyed was the friendliness. If Nonna (my son’s grandmother, my mom) sent a package from New Jersey, he’d comment on how there “was something fun for Ollie.” And, on the days that my son was at home, I’d bring him out to see Don. It was great fun to see both of them smile at each other. Ollie knew that Don was (and is) a good guy and it made my day to see how much they enjoyed each other’s brief company.
But, the thing that makes Don so nice was one day a few weeks ago. I was finishing packing up a box to be sent to the east coast. I wasn’t 100% done and I scrambled downstairs and outside to ask him if he could wait a minute to take the package. After a big grin, he said, “of course. Take your time.” I ran back upstairs, taped up the box and printed out the label — all of which took much more than “a minute.” As I walked outside I apologized for being longer than anticipated. Once again, the big smile, the calm demeanor with this response:
“No problem, Doug. You’ve always been one of the favorite stops on the route. I’ll wait for you as long as you need.”
THAT is just flat-out cool.
I’m certain that my new letter carrier will be just fine. And, the good news is that Don is still around the neighborhood a little bit, so I’ll be able to see him every so often.
But I will miss our daily chats and his wonderful disposition and kindness.
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