”
Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these
couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds
”
(Inscription on the Main Post Office, New York City, adapted
from Herodotus’ portrayal of Persian messengers).
“Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds” (Inscription on the Main Post Office, New York City, adapted from Herodotus’ portrayal of Persian messengers).
On this, the second anniversary date of the 9/11 tragedy, my thoughts turn to all the public servants we take for granted. I know Gilroy is growing and our post office is a small one, but I feel sorry for our postal workers and the amount of bellyaching they have to put up with, both on newspaper editorial pages and in real life. I know that the day will come when we will definitely need a larger facility, but as it is now I frequent the post office all hours of the night and day, and I never have to wait more than a minute or so for a parking space. Ninety seconds at the absolute longest – people are always coming and going. If we are so busy that we can’t wait one minute for a parking space to become available, then what does that say about the level of impatience in our society? If a bigger facility is built, it will just take longer to walk from the parking lot into the building anyway, and we’ll still spend at least one minute getting inside.
We don’t appreciate what we have. In the past, we would have had to wait for the stagecoach to bring our mail. To reach new territories, these stageline routes were extremely slow and unreliable, especially for those as far west as California. Although the route was intended to take only 24 days, it was often months, if the stage made it at all. In 1860, relay stations were set up and young riders were hired as employees of the “Pony Express.” Averaging 75 to 100 miles a day, the rider had to change horses every 10-15 miles. The first route from St. Joseph, Mo., to Sacramento, Calif., took 10 and one-half days: less than half the time by stage. The rate for a half-ounce letter taken the entire distance was $5. Now we’re angry if it takes 90 seconds for us to mail our 37-cent letter.
Yet, at the post office, I find the personnel to be unfailingly courteous, helpful, friendly, and positive as they patiently help each patron.
I have personally tried mailing bills from many different locations, and can you guess which location guarantees my mail will be delivered the quickest? I’ll tell you: it’s the Gilroy post office. If I drop mail at any other location, it takes longer to arrive. If I mail a card to someone on Friday afternoon, I can place bets that it will be delivered by the next day. I am convinced that there are little elves hiding just inside the drop box, and as I deposit my mail, they eagerly grab it and immediately begin processing it. No other nearby city has delivery time equal to Gilroy’s – I have tried San Jose, Salinas, and Morgan Hill. Mail deposited at these post offices takes a minimum of twice as long to be delivered. I have had a letter take three days or more to travel from Salinas to Gilroy. But from Gilroy to Salinas – it’s always less-than-24-hour delivery.
I don’t know what Gilroy’s secret is, but their delivery is nothing short of amazing! It must be a drag to work as hard as our postal workers do and hear nothing but complaints and derogatory jokes about people going “postal.” Let’s give them a little appreciation for the incredible job they are doing.
