Sweet Gummi Mary! I have been confused on how many days The Pony has worked without a day off. I have been counting the day off he was SUPPOSED to have, which got cancelled at 6:00 p.m. the night before. According to Farmer H, who is now an insider, privy (heh, heh) to information I don't get, because he TAKES LUNCH TO THE PONY... the last day off was November 2.
According to Farmer H, The Pony will be off Sunday. IF ONLY he can plod through Saturday without incident! Apparently, The Pony fell on Thursday, and skinned his hand. He didn't tell me. Just confided in Farmer H, his feedbag-strapper-onner. The Pony sends Farmer H a text, asking him to pick up Burger King for lunch. Then Farmer H takes it to wherever The Pony is at that time. He eats on his 10-minute break. And probably grabs a bite before getting out to deliver at the next few stops.
The Pony says his legs are so tired that he can barely stand in the shower in the morning. I say why does he need a shower, since he goes to bed right after a soaking bath in the big triangle tub in the master bathroom. At most, he might need to step in and wet down his unruly mane. Then get out! No need for a 30-minute shower when you're already clean! I'd think wetting your hair would suffice to wake you up.
The Pony has been asking the manager who schedules if he can have a day off. She says they are SO BUSY. The night manager overheard The Pony wishing for a day off, and said to call that day manager before coming to work on Friday. That, "It's ridiculous to work these hours when we have workers coming out of our ears." Okay. I'm pretty sure that's not the exact quote. I didn't write it down, but that was the gist of it. The Pony says they have so many that there are not enough vehicles, so there are several pairs that share one, and can't work until the vehicle is back.
Pony was NOT allowed the day off on Friday. Furthermore, somebody had lost or kept the key to his assigned vehicle, so he had to drive his car up to the repair garage near the Sis-Town Casey's, to get the spare key. THEN somebody had lost the key to the apartment complex mailbox unit that was first on his route. So he had to wait until they could find it. He didn't get off until 7:30. An 11.5 hour day. Making his total for the week 78.85 hours.
Good money. Bad legs.
At least The Pony was fortified with a Whopper, two orders of fries, a Sprite, and a Strawberry Shake. I'm pretty sure he walked off all those calories.
5 comments:
I'm sure he could have had two shakes and two Whoppers, along with the fries and the soda, and still would not have walked off all his calories.
Ah, the young. Their metabolism still moves forward, instead of either being at a standstill or working backwards.
I would think he doesn't need a shower even to wet down his hair, he could just duck his head under a tap or step outside and dip into the rainwater barrel like hillbillies do in movies. unless it is already so cold there the water has frozen in that barrel.
His aching legs will get used to the miles, but is he wearing properly supportive footwear? boots with arch support for the feet and laces to support the ankles? I'm thinking hiking boots like they wear for cross country hiking over all terrains. Pricey, but worth it.
Sioux,
Yes, youth (and metabolism) are wasted on the young!
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River,
Farmer H says the same: "Pony could just tuck his hair up into the hat. That's what he does anyway, so I don't know why it needs to look any better than when he gets out of bed."
We wouldn't want The Pony to get his head stuck in the sink (as Madam above had happen, ALLEGEDLY, and nearly needed firefighter rescue). We don't have a rain barrel, but if we did, the 19 degrees Fahrenheit of one morning this week would be a deterrent for such a head-dousing.
The Pony went looking for shoes locally on his last day off. He couldn't find the leather high-tops that he wanted, but DID buy a pair of what I think of as rain boots. Not actual pull-on rubber rain boots, but a high-ankle boot with laces that has a waterproof foot material. I cautioned him not to start out wearing them for a 12-hour day. I don't know if he did, but he said that boot feels good on his ankle.
He needs to find another shoe to order through his USPS site. The last model he's been wearing was discontinued. The Pony says he expects to pay $100-$150 for a good shoe. He's not concerned about the price, but about the fit and sizing when ordering online. I think he's looking for a high-top black leather shoe. I told him the kind worn by basketball referees might be suitable, if they come in a high-top. They should be durable and have a stable sole that won't turn his ankle or be slippery.
I'm a little late to this discussion but will push on anyway...maybe the Pony needs the shower to get all of his joints moving after putting on so many miles day after day? Just a thought. I wondered if you were affected by the disgruntled postal employee in MO that opted to deliver the mail to a dumpster instead? I would like to thank Pony for his diligence and dedication to doing such a good job. We live in Minnesota and we often get packages delivered and I think our postman/woman is getting a little aggravated with us. Our last purchases must have been thrown toward the vicinity of our steps, with one landing on the edge of the top step, one leaning against it on the next step down, one almost blown away by the wind (very windy that day) and one on the sidewalk at the bottom of the steps. We heard it get delivered and it was not left for the wind to rearrange. If anyone should be mad at us, it's FedEx with our heavy Chewy deliveries. I always ask them to pack our order in smaller boxes instead of in one gigantic box but no success when they want to save shipping costs. The last box near broke my husband hauling it into the house and the box had been re taped and all of the corners were bashed in. Serious business that shipping and mailing industry. It makes me appreciate Pony's efforts that much more. Ranee (MN)
Rae,
That is a possibility. The Pony has been a few minutes late to work a couple times (always calls to tell the manager, who is so thrilled that The Pony is, indeed, COMING TO WORK, that there has been no repercussions). I asked The Pony if he wanted us to make sure he was up, but he said he IS up, but can hardly get out of bed because his legs hurt. So that might be the reason for a hot morning shower.
I saw an article a while back on a St Louis news station about trays of mail being dumped. That then there was that one employee fired from The Pony's office because somebody saw them putting mail in a dumpster. But as far as we know, we haven't been affected by such atrocities!
I will pass on your appreciation to The Pony. We have the most trouble with FedEx. Either leaving packages at a house on another road (the wife calls to leave a message that they have our packages again), or tearing up our yard with their truck, or leaning paper envelope packages against the door, where the dogs (my little Jack!) get them and chew them up, rather than leave them on a chair or on top of Juno's dog house on the back porch, where our old UPS lady used to leave them.
The Pony says he is responsible for carrying packages up to 70 pounds, but he's had a couple that were 80. He takes pictures of his oddly-shaped packages. Some of them Farmer H can figure out, especially if they're going to the car repair shop.
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