The Mountain Eagle
WHITESBURG WEATHER

Postal workers have routine for check day





By the time this article is printed, another headache day (check day) will have come and gone. Postal workers have gotten a routine to go through over the years. Get up early as usual, have an extra cup of joe, take a couple Tylenol or some other kind of over-the-counter pain medication. Take plenty to work to take as needed.

Meanwhile, those expecting checks go through their own routine. Get up early as if going to church someplace. Head straight for the post office because there will not be any worship service on this special day for many of them. Five minutes after the mail arrives, they start opening their mailboxes as if the mail comes presorted. About 10 minutes after the mail arrives, the derogatory remarks start, loud enough for the postmaster to hear.

“Mail must have been late.”

“Wish they would hire someone who could work faster.”

“It shouldn’t take this long to sort a few letters.”

“I bet I could do a lot better job.”

“I need to get to town and pay my juice (electric) bill, pay my TV bill, tag my car, get to the pharmacy and get my medicine, or my baby is out of milk.”

Lord help the postmaster if a check doesn’t arrive on time.

“Would you mind looking to be sure you didn’t put it in the wrong box?”

“See if it fell on the floor.”

“I really need to go get my medicine.”

For many of them, the medicine is habitual drugs. And they sure aren’t worried about what their children need. They are going to go out on the town and spend it for what they want whether they need it or not.

If the route carrier doesn’t deliver a check when due, whether it arrived or not, they suggest it fell behind the seat of the carrier’s vehicle or the carrier put it in the wrong box. Or perhaps the carrier stole it and intends to cash it.

I have seen people wear fine attire, smoke name-brand cigarettes, wear enough makeup to look like a circus clown, and drive late model vehicles, and yet their children go dressed in handme downs and look like you could count their ribs through their clothes. These little children, who didn’t have anything to do with being brought into this world, are paying a heavy price for being a child. They are God’s little angels and have committed no sin, yet they continue to suffer. Even though funds are allotted to sustain them, most of it is spent on those who are supposed to provide food and shelter.

The defenseless children reap few rewards from these fund. Many of them are shoved from pillar to post so much they don’t even know who their biological parents are. Some cannot even call out for help because they can’t even talk yet.

I dare say that the divorce rate has doubled in the past 25 years. Why? Because so many marriages are founded on lust or money or both. This type marriage has no chance of survival. Many don’t even bother to get married, but still bring children into the world. The “I do” in a marriage ceremony has lost its meaning for many.

Meanwhile, children continue to suffer every type of abuse imaginable, both mental and physical. Mental abuse is the most difficult to detect because it leaves no outward scars. Much of this abuse is never known by the proper authorities due to fear by the children and others. But some is reported by teachers due to their alertness.

My siblings and I were abused both mentally and physically. This abuse went on for over 12 years and was never reported to the authorities. It happened at the hands of a stepmother. Therefore I take a dim view of anyone abusing a child in any manner. I love them all, and try to show my love for them every place I go. It means nothing to tell a child that you love it if you don’t show that love.

It is easy to forgive, even for a child. Adults should be as forgiving as a child is. Just because you live to become an adult doesn’t mean people won’t betray and deceive you. If you can’t forgive, you are in dire need of spiritual guidance. Even today I have people I trusted and respected who betray that trust. So I keep on forgiving.

While it may be easy to forgive, even for a child, it is not easy to forget, if at all. Some things which have befallen me will go to the grave with me if I die with a rational mind. A child can retain memories of violated trust as well as adults, all depending on their age at he time the violation occurred.

If a child points an accusing finger at you, you are in a mess of trouble, even if it is years later. A child can block things out of its mind to be recalled at a much later date. The best thing adults can do is love and respect our children, the leaders of tomorrow.


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