Advice from your mailman
Matt was enjoying a casual evening, however, this particular evening happened to land on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. Upon completing his workday as a mail carrier for the United States Postal Service (USPS), he was ready to ditch his blue button-down and watch the Utah Jazz play the Oklahoma City Thunder. Matt frequently watched the National Basketball Association (NBA) when it came time to unwind or try his luck at some sports betting. This seemingly casual evening started to drift into unsettled waters when the game was delayed. Then it was delayed longer, and then longer, until breaking news was announced that Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz was diagnosed with COVID-19. The game was canceled and the NBA ceased all operations with several other professional sports organizations following in their wake. Matt explains that is when the pandemic became real for him, “You heard about it happening overseas, but that’s when I realized it was actually happening here.” The NBA was shut down for approximately four months and eventually ended the season in a self-described “bubble” to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. Matt and so many others were to soon discover that the simple pleasure of watching basketball and other sports would be something sorely missed for months ahead.
In his pre-pandemic existence, Matt saved his pennies and made plans to move away from home. He moved to Colorado just one year before the pandemic. He was single, ready to meet new friends, ready to meet women, and explore opportunities in an exciting new state. So often when one moves away from home, it’s necessary to bridge an employment gap; Matt found a job in customer service upon his arrival in Colorado. Although it paid the bills, this particular job wasn’t satisfying for him, nor did it offer the career development potential he was seeking. Knowing this, his mother suggested exploring opportunities with USPS. The pay and benefits are favorable, the work is reliable and meaningful, and it affords opportunities for a long-term career.
Matt secured a position as a City Carrier Assistant (CCA) for USPS in February 2020, and provided some insight on how the carrier career path is structured. Starting in a CCA position, you don’t have a dedicated route and you essentially deliver mail wherever the need is on a given day. This is how the majority of carriers start their careers. Shortly after joining USPS, he was promoted to a carrier position where he earned routine routes and had a home post office in the northern Denver suburban area. At the time, he did not know that his new employer would unexpectedly end up in the spotlight during not one, but two influential societal events in one historical year. In stories like these, we are reminded of how the intricate web of our realities is constantly and simultaneously occurring. While a hopeful new employee is stepping into a new career, an impending string of events is unraveling on the other side of the world. Eventually, these two realities will meet even though one is not aware of the other. In some cases, this happened suddenly, and in others, it happened gradually.
Matt’s reality merging with COVID-19 may have started with a basketball game being canceled, but then he noticed more and more peculiar things such as people wearing gloves to handle their mail. Regardless of the pandemic, Matt remembers thinking, “Well, I can’t exactly blame them, the mail is dirty and my hands are filthy at the end of the day.” A quick nostalgic google search will propel the reader swiftly back to the many articles advising us how to handle mail and groceries during the early months of the pandemic. The reminder to “stop touching your face,” is burned into the memories of millions. Early information about how COVID-19 transferred was opaque and constantly changing based on ongoing research, so the prospect of licking envelopes and handling said envelopes was concerning for many. During this period of fear and confusion, mail services increased as people began to order more items to be delivered to their homes. Matt recalls mail services not only increasing but also getting more heavy as the general population bulk ordered and auto shipped more, and more. Although several were expressing their concerns surrounding mail delivery and its potential influence on virus transmission, most still chose, or in some cases were forced, to have goods shipped to their homes more often than ever before. The undertones of the early months of COVID-19 were painted with panic and cast in a confounding light.
If we were painting 2020 in a mural, the next several brush strokes would completely change the tone of the piece into an even more perplexing scene. Not only was 2020 the year of a worldwide pandemic, but it also happened to be an impactful and polarizing presidential election year. The drama that ensued could be a blog on its own (throw a rock and I’m confident you’ll find one), but one of the more unexpected topics of contention was in fact, the USPS. This typically ordinary and perhaps uneventful government entity was in the press almost every day in the months leading up to the 2020 election concerning the delivery of election ballots. Matt was on the front lines of the postal service during the peak of the controversy. He recalls, “I remember the day that ballots went out, it took until after 8:00 p.m. to deliver them all. Several houses got multiple ballots, and the envelopes were thick and heavy.” Under strict timelines, and with the guidance of a very vague list of locations, the pressure was on for mail carriers to collect ballot envelopes from the famous blue ballot boxes. Meanwhile, skeptical citizens consistently asked Matt accusatory questions such as “Where’s my ballot??” or “Why are things taking so long??” What they failed to understand is, that tampering with official mail is illegal for civilians and government employees alike. Matt typically replied to the inquiring citizens with, “I’m just trying to do my job, just like you are.”
Other than having his integrity questioned on a regular basis during the election, Matt explains that he is lucky enough to say his life hasn’t been significantly impacted by COVID-19. He was able to avoid contracting the virus although he virtually did not take a single day off of work during its peak. If he had to attribute this to anything, he believes that working through the pandemic may have positively supported his immune system. Due to the nature of his job, he was getting daily exercise and spending a lot of time outside. Even while Matt explains the woes of working for a government entity that was in the hot seat for a few months, it is clear he is proud of what he does for a living and takes his work seriously. His favorite thing about being a mail carrier is that although his job is typically the same every day, the experience of the day is just different enough to keep things interesting.
As the world started to return to some normalcy, Matt had the pleasure of experiencing the more exciting aspects of his job as a mail carrier. In case you were wondering what your local mail carrier listens to while they walk their route, it could be anything from Tom Segura comedy to sports podcasts. They may even practice French while they drop off the third notice from your credit card company about that interest-free transfer offer. Matt is not afraid to be the random mailman reciting French phrases while strolling down your block, ”I can just imagine being on my route and someone hears me say out loud, “Bonjour!” He jokes about this but also went on to say, “What people don’t realize, is that every house needs to receive mail, so we see it all.” Some of his colleagues have seen drugs casually placed in mailboxes and even claimed to see more of a resident than they ever bargained for. So far, Matt reports he has dodged catching glances of unsolicited nudity. Other experiences Matt has managed to avoid include a too close-to-home tragedy that occurred in February of 2021. Debris from a defective United Airlines flight was scattered along one of Matt’s occasional mail routes. The flight eventually landed safely at DIA, but the event was harrowing nonetheless. He was not working that day, and thankfully the person working his route was not involved in the accident. Regardless, the violating feeling of something so bizarre happening in a space you frequently occupy is a very haunting catalyst for reflection. He is however thrilled to share that he has had the privilege of delivering mail to a famous female UFC athlete.
Matt shares a spectrum of lessons he learned during 2020, starting with, “I don’t take little experiences like going out to eat for granted anymore.” He went on to explain that since people lost so much, it forced him to reflect on even the smallest experiences he realized he was taking for granted. He also shares some of the unique insight he was afforded during this pivotal time as a mail carrier. Mail is perceived as official, professional, and reliable. What most don’t realize is that anyone can mail anything, at any time. A more recent example of this phenomenon is how anyone can post anything online, about anything, at any time. Both have proven to be very harmful means of the spread of misinformation. However, the danger of fraud spreading through official mail seems to have been forgotten about in the age of digital misinformation. Matt has witnessed mail propaganda about COVID-19, conspiracies, unemployment scams, and the list goes on. Legally, mail carriers still must deliver these pieces of mail even if they suspect it is fraudulent, and the best thing they can do is report it to their supervisor. Official mail is often assumed to be more reliable than information that is found on social media and websites, but the risks are just the same and reach an entirely different audience. “All people have to do is pay the price of postage, and they can get whatever message they want out there,” Matt goes on to advise, “Be wary of where you get information from, be careful of what you are consuming on daily basis, research authors, and don’t always trust what you see.”
Take these lessons from your local mailman who witnesses the intricacies of our mail, our neighborhoods, and our society daily.
*These statements do not directly reflect the stance of the USPS or any United States Government entity.*
Featured Photo by Sean Boyd
