Interesting Work Photos

In case life wasn't hard enough for the handicapped...

It's unnerving delivering mail while standing on the world's most conspicuous trap door...

Three Foot Customers

Children are always fun to deliver mail to. While some adults fear the mailman and his stack of bills, children revere him like an honored god. They announce his arrival,
"MOM, DAD...IT'S THE MAILMAN!"
And they always send him off with a hearty farewell, "GOODBYE, MR. MAILMAN! BYE!"

There was even an instance where two young girls sang my praises! It went something like this, "Mailman, mailman do your duty. Here comes a lady with an African booty. She can do the pom-poms, she can do the splits, but most of all she can kiss, kiss, kiss!"
The Internet says that's some sort of jump-rope chant. It was funny and disturbing all at once.

Children are always curious to know what the red capped can is I carry with me.
I told one kid, "That's my mace."
She said, "Oh, what's it for?"
"I use it to spray dogs that attack me." I replied.
"Do you have dogs?" she asked.
"Yes." I answered.
"Do you spray your own dogs?" she said in quiet shock.
"No," I laughed, "only the bad dogs that try to bite me."
"Oh. Bye! You're really good at mail." And she walked away.

Unarmed and in Danger

This makes dog attack #6 in 3.5 years of postal service, and it's my least favorite scenario; caught without sword and shield. That is to say, no mace and no satchel.

All I had to battle with were instinct and intellect against 42 pointed teeth.

Unfortunately, instinct and intellect clash. Waging war in your own mind isn't a good idea when facing imminent bodily injury. Instinct wants to fall back on the 'ol "fight or flight" routine. Both of which have lead to scars and mutilation for my fellow mailman. Intellect, having learned a better method, recounts the details of Caesar's book, "Be the Pack Leader". He says, stay still, make yourself big, think confident thoughts, and DON'T run.

(My eHow article on fending off dog attacks can be read here: How to Avoid a Dog Attack)

I was on the way back to my vehicle from a font door delivery when the owner came out asking if I could...BARK BARK BARK!!!

Here's what played in my head within the single second it took for the Australian Shepherd to push past his owner and reach my leg.

Instinct: "RUN!"
Intellect: "I have two legs, it has four."
Instinct: "FIGHT!"
intellect: "I have fleshy fists, it has jaws."
Instinct: "WHAT DO I DO?!"
Intellect: "Stand still, stand tall, face the dog but don't look at it, and exude confidence."
Instinct: "THAT'S NOT GOING TO WORK! I'M GOING TO GET BIT! OMG, IT'S GONNA HURT!"

But it did work. The dog scrambled to my leg and barked viscously; it's front teeth actually butt-up against my skin. It stopped, walked away, came back, did it again, and went back inside.

Instinct: "I can't believe that worked."
Intellect: "Told ya."

Close Call

Woah...

I was at a four-way stop sign yesterday, on my way home from work, when the vehicle to my left was slammed from behind.  No squealing of tires and no horn, just, "BLAP!".  The injured vehicle was one of my own, a postal truck.  I didn't know the guy though because I was in a different city.  His bumper was turned down at a 90 degree angle and the drivers of both cars seemed okay.  The offending driver will absolutely be paying for all damages as it was without a doubt her fault.  She didn't even try to stop!  Thank goodness that postman was there though because I would have driven out into the intersection and then it would have been a t-bone on my side of the car.

Ouch.

So thanks fellow postman!  That could have been a lot worse.

Dog Days of Summer

In an odd stroke of irony, my post office shares a fence with the neighboring dog park.

Go figure.

Every day I see dogs happily playing in the park, or barking, or fighting, or being yelled at. All typical things at a dog park. But there was one time I saw something out of the ordinary. An old man with his little black dog came to visit the park. The dog, being a newcomer, quickly drew attention and other dogs came over to inspect him. This scared the old man so much that he picked the dog up and dangled it like a piece of meat at arm’s length, trying to keep it away from the curious dogs. That only riled them up and they started bouncing at it like dolphins for a fish. More dogs came. The old man began to shuffle in a circle, arms outstretched, looking for a way out of the doggy mosh-pit, holding his limp dog and turning as if he were showcasing a treat. If that weren’t enough turmoil, his pants began to fall down. Now he’s pulling up his pants with one hand, dangling the dog in his other, shuffling madly to no avail while the canines jump fanatically at the hapless creature who’s probably wishing for a much quicker and less painful death.

It ended very well however, with several people coming to the man’s rescue and helping him leave the park with his dog intact and pants secure.

Just Another Dog Attack

Hey, my first dog attack since I started this blog! I wondered when I'd be writing about one. How coincidental that it would be the same day I put up the post below this one.

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It seems that I meet my adrenaline rush quota every year with no problem. No matter how many times dogs try to put "Basted Leg of Ian" on the menu I still get the jitters after fending them off. Today was no different.

At the end of the day my job was to go and help the new guy. He was struggling with his route since he's only been a carrier for about two weeks. He asked if I could take certain streets, which I did. Lucky for him, he missed out on his first dog attack.

I was minding my own business, walking along, when I saw a brown blur rush me from behind. I dropped my mail bag to calf-height and the pit bull (big surprise) latched on. This would be the umpteenth time my bag has kept me whole.

The owner got the dog, scolded him and put him away. The man and I talked about the indecent, of which he apologized for, and I went on my merry way. Shortly after I could hear him scolding the dog again, but louder and with more cussing, possibly beating it. It was clear why the dog has aggression issues. That, and the fact that it was maced the first time it tried to approach a mailman some time ago.

Fun Fact!
California is the #1 place to be bit by a dog if you're a mail carrier.

Mailmen Have Stories

Boy do we.

When you’re out and about among the community and the elements, things are bound to happen. Talk to any postal carrier and you’re sure to have an interesting conversation. A few things I’ve experienced in my three years as a mailman are dog bites, bug stings, 80 mph winds, 115 degree heat, crazy people yelling at the sidewalk, come-on’s, and countless paper cuts. I’ve also seen a hot pink thong in a mailbox…with the flag up. What could that possibly mean?


A few more extreme cases that happened to my coworkers include finding rabbits, snakes, and cats in mailboxes, running into a loose PACK of aggressive dogs, being attacked with a screw driver, and having naked women answer the door (young and old).

So if you’re looking for someone to chew the fat with, leave your underwear in the mailbox and wait for a knock.

I’ll be sure to post new stories as they happen.