FROM THE DIRECTOR

Going Postal

I turn 50 later this year and while I may not act my age, I certainly feel it. It’s Monday morning as I write this, and every bone in this body aches from the weekend. My arms, legs and lower back have that familiar sore sensation – and believe it or not, it’s all the fault of the United States Postal Service.

Of course, that’s not new, we blame postal workers all the time for all sorts of things. One or two bad apples coupled with a little publicity, and suddenly hundreds of thousands of people are tainted with a negative image. We've even coined a catch phrase for it … going postal. But since September 11 we have developed a new perspective on a number of things. We think differently about our security, our airplanes, our policemen, and our firefighters. And now it’s time to consider redefining that catch phrase.

Last year, going postal meant delivering mail with the threat of anthrax in any envelope. In Washington D.C., the House and Senate debated closing up shop and leaving town as federal office buildings closed to be inspected for contamination. Of course, the mail was still delivered each day. Letters, cards, birthday gifts, magazines, all of it was delivered day in and day out by your local letter carrier.

After NBC announced Tom Brokaw had received anthrax-tainted mail, the offices of all the national news media started screening their mail and instituting additional security measures. But local postal workers continued to deliver our letters, cards, birthday gifts, and magazines.

Two weeks ago, a young misguided individual (read lunatic) started putting pipe bombs in rural mailboxes rigged to explode when opening. So what happened? Rural postal workers continued to deliver the mail.

Saturday, letter carriers around the country collected food for those in need. Battling a negative image, pipe bombs, and anthrax, their commitment to feeding the hungry didn't waiver. The National Association of Letter Carriers’ food drive has become the largest single-day food drive in the country. In our area they collected 240,000 pounds. They didn't have to do it and they didn't get paid for it. For the past ten years, they've volunteered to pick up the canned goods on our front steps and they've lugged them back to the post office.

Other than giving me a sore back from helping out on Saturday, what does going postal mean? It means keeping your wits about you, even when others are screaming the sky is falling. It’s following through on your commitments, being a team player, and pulling your own weight. And it means putting into action your concern for others less fortunate.

We should thank our local letter carrier for a job well done, not just for last Saturday but for the last year. They deserve it. And we should consider going postal ourselves.

Sincerely,

Frank Finnegan (BIO) [ ffinnegan@stlfoodbank.org ]