Heartwarming interaction with my mail carrier in record heat yesterday.

[Amaryllis]

We are having a stretch of record-breaking heat in the Pacific NW. Well over 100 in Portland yesterday - highly unusual.

I saw my mail carrier through my window. I opened the door and asked if he needed a water refill. He thanked me and said he was fine, but might take me up on it another time. It was almost the end of his day. He said all day long people had been so nice, giving him cold things to put in his cooler. (They drive a truck that they park while they deliver to sections of their area.)

I could see from the expression on his face how much this kindness and caring meant to him; he was clearly very hot, yet there was an open-hearted quality in his countenance that nearly moved me to tears.

Simple kindness. So simple, and yet so profound.

[Demovictory9]

1. lovely

[niyad]

2. Just lovely.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Simple kindness is rare. You touched him deeply and his face acknowledged that fact. ♥

[smirkymonkey]

4. Thank you for sharing that, Amaryllis.

It put a smile on my face today!

[Amaryllis]

6. You are welcome! I still tear up when i think of it. The expression on his face...

hot, sweaty, overheated, but clearly an open heart due to people being kind all day long.

[Diamond_Dog]

5. When I was a kid

We always offered the mail carrier a cold drink on a hot day. Sometimes he’d take us up on it, sometimes he’d say no thanks, he was fine. But if we kids ever had a lemonade stand out front, he’d insist on buying some from us. A good memory of olden days, I guess.

[Grammy23]

22. I have a similar memory of our postman from my childhood.

His name was Mr. Hastings. I guess we never knew his first name. He was a nice, friendly guy who brought our daily mail.If we set up a lemonade stand, he never failed to buy several cups from us. That was many, many years ago (1950s-60s) but I still remember Mr. Hastings and his huge, leather satchel of mail.

[secondwind]

7. You wrote this so beautifully.....

it almost sounds like a poem.

[Lunabell]

8. Kindness is underrated.

Probably made his day and he went home to talk about it.

[Marcuse]

9. Carriers have to carefully balance hydration and bladder pressure.

[luvtheGWN]

14. The hotter it is,

the more you sweat, and the less frequently you have to pee! It all works out in the end

[bluestateboomer]

10. Since the start of the pandemic

My daughter has had a box of water and snacks on the doorstep for USPS and delivery workers. She's had several nice notes of thanks.

[3catwoman3]

23. What a lovey idea.

to you and your daughter. She must have been raised right.

[3catwoman3]

24. What a lovey idea.

to you and your daughter. She must have been raised right.

[George II]

11. Considering all the crap directed toward the USPS and employees by TFG over the last 4 years....

...I go out of my way to be friendly to ours.

Lots of other people around here have too - we have a bunch of signs around town saying "Support the USPS"!

It doesn't take much, good for you!

[MustLoveBeagles]

12. Thanks for sharing

[oasis]

13. Postal carriers have a tremendous workload. Patron kindness is golden.

[Fritz Walter]

15. Well done, Amaryllis!

For the past couple years, I used to leave a couple bottles of chilled water in a styrofoam cooler directly beneath the mailbox on my front porch whenever the heat index was forecast to be in the triple digits. Added a large sticky note to the front of the mailbox, saying “help yourself.”

Summer of 2019, Maria — our letter carrier — would take at least one, and in the brutal heat, she’d grab both. Last summer, we had a different carrier who also appreciated the gesture.

New USPS letter carrier this year. Will provide same support. These civil servants deserve better than what the current Postmastur is forcing them to endure.

These folks have a rough job. Treat them well. Because it’s the proper thing to do.

[NJCher]

28. great idea

I'm gonna' do that. We have all kinds of coolers around here and plenty of bottled sparkling water.

[Historic NY]

16. I miss my old carrier, he got promoted...

Every day he stopped at the firehouse for water, ice and bathroom break. If he was lucky, a quick snack on some leftovers. I lived down the other end of the block, so I could always catch him there.

[nuxvomica]

17. My carrier is always friendly and smiling when I see him

I think he enjoys scanning Funny Times every month. He sees I get Harpers and all sorts of Democratic Party and social-justice mailings; even my phone bills are from Credo. It dawned on me that he probably has a pretty good idea of everyone's politics.

[Captain Zero]

18. My dad was a letter carrier.

He bought lemonade from kids' stands, and if they had drawn a hopscotch on the sidewalk, he jumped it. .

[SleeplessinSoCal]

19. I'm so old that I remember that this just seemed a normal interaction.

Before the Great Divide of the 21st century.

[Joinfortmill]

20. 👍

[Beacool]

21. At least they have a truck in your area.

I'm in a city, so they have to walk pushing their cart in all kinds of weather. Since we mostly live in apts., I hardly ever see my mailman, let alone to give him water or a hot drink in cold weather.

I'm glad that you and others in your area have the opportunity to do something nice for these hard working people.

[LakeArenal]

25. For the record, Donny was our carrier for the 35 years we lived there.

He was the best and nicest guy. We had lots of snow and yet we always got the mail.

Always went the extra mile for folks.

[BadGimp]

26. Right now tt's 109 here in Sellwood (Portland)

Good on you!

[Amaryllis]

27. 109 here too! (Portland)

[Postal Grunt]

29. Been there, done that

I don't miss carrying mail during Summer in Kansas.

[gab13by13]

30. Mailman story from way back,

We had a mailman and we had a dog, good sized dog but friendly. Mailman, every day gave our dog a Hershey kiss, I know shouldn't give chocolate to dogs. Mailman retired, new mailman, no Hershey kiss, no more letting our dog run loose. Now this was back in the 50's.

[Smackdown2019]

31. Appreciation

I was a city carrier for 18 years, now I am a small town Postmaster. When I carried, I walked 9 miles a day and you never can escape the summer heat and humidity. Cold water is the best thing to give a mail carrier. Just be sure to check on your neighbors that may not respond to heat well due to their age or medical conditions.

[gopiscrap]

32. thank you, my son is a letter carrier

and my wife and I will be in Portland today out by the airport. It is our 41st anniversary do you have any suggestions for a good place for dinner. We are staying at a Residence Innat Cascade Station.