July 4th

 The stuff people tell their mailman: (I’ve changed details to protect the friendly customers.)

A man told me this week that he was so sick of working for the big national bank that he is quitting after 24 years. He had $385,000 (yes, over a third of a million dollars) in a deferred bonus account. He will give that all up because he had a non-compete clause and can’t work in banking (which is what he wants to do) otherwise. He has enough other investments that he doesn’t need the $385, but still? The amazing thing to me is that he would just share this with his mailman. People trusts mailmen. Anyway, being in the banking industry he probably knows that anyone who wants to find out can run a credit/financial resources check anyway. I understand that in Norway the law makes everyone’s annual income public record. Wonder what it would be like to live somewhere where such info is available? Bet people would be nicer to other people.

A fellow letter carrier missed his own son’s wedding. Isn’t that sad? He was in the hospital while they checked out pain in his chest. It turned out to be heartburn from the late rehearsal dinner eating. He is such a nice guy, family man, committed Christian. But, he has been sick with one thing after another for the whole 20+ years I’ve known him.

We fired a really nice, caring woman at work last week because she backed her truck into a ditch and wrecked the undercarriage. It’s sad, but I believe she will be OK. The work the new hires too hard anyway. She has a career as a nurse to go back to. Such a nice person, though. She was always taking care of feral cats and lost dogs. The thing I will remember he best for is that she has her own sled and sled-dog team. I am not kidding. Right in central Illinois. She has been to the Iditarod sled races in Alaska and worked on the race as a volunteer, like a spotter or something. Bet that was cool.

A customer of mine, a professional writer, was on the porch last week and we got to talking about family. He said that after his divorce he figured out that it was cheaper to hire call girls from the local college than to date. That seems sad to me, but he was very matter of fact in stating it, as if he had decided Payless was as good a place to buy shoes as Kohl’s. The thing I can’t get over is his just telling a mailman about it. I guess, that like the banker above, I have gotten to know these two and have spoken to each a number of times. As much as people like their privacy, they love to connect. It sure is odd how self-contradictory we humans are about such privacy/publicity issues.

Politically, social conservatives are wrong about war, homosexuality, drug laws, booze, teaching evolution, and other kinds of meddling in people’s private lives and international issues.

Social liberals are just as wrong about homosexuality, sex education, church freedoms, drugs, booze, religion the public arena, race, trade unionism, and private vs. public property.

Libertarians are right about most all of these issues, but the can’t seem to win at the game of politics.

A Cyberswim catalog of swimsuits I delivered recently had a lady on the back in a swimsuit (of course) saying, “The suit made me look simply sexy. I literally look 10 pound lighter!” Shouldn’t she want to look figuratively 10 pounds lighter?

I found a nice place online that sells wide shoes. I wear a 7 ½ EEEE. I can’t find them anywhere so I usually just buy shoes that are too long so they are wide enough. So, the place online had wingtips and dress boots……for $105 and $299. So sorry. Guess it’s back to the 8Ws at Payless again.

I love all you patriots. I love and appreciate the blessings of living in the USA, but my favorite July 4th bible verse is Philippians 3:20.