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THE DOOR STOP

THE BROWN PACKAGE

By Fabian EllisPublished 3 years ago 10 min read
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THE BROWN PACKAGE

THE DOORSTOP

It definitely was not the best of times; it was the worst of times with Covid 19 casting its’ dark cloud over the world. My life was getting darker by the day, especially with me losing my job due to the pandemic. There were people dying by the thousands every day and the election was spiraling out of control, causing a great divide in the country.

The post office propelled itself front and center of the election controversy with a series of events that caused backlogs and delays in the delivery of mail. The crisis stems primarily from changes implemented by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy shortly after taking office in June of 2020.

I mention the post office crisis because it changed my life for the better in more ways than one. After losing my job, I decided to seek employment through a Temporary Agency. While sitting in the waiting room at the agency, I was watching the tv reporting the effects the postal delays were having on the election, as a result of DeJoy making changes throughout the organization to include reorganizing the leadership and staffing in many of the cities.

The covid pandemic, losing my job, using the temp agency, and sitting in the waiting room watching the postal effects on the election was just the beginning of a series of events that changed my life. When I was given my first assignment, ironically it was a position at the local post office. At first, I was terrified at the thought of working at the post office because of the comprehensive test a person had to take before seeking employment. I was relieved when the agency told me, due to covid and the needs at the post office, I would be working in the packaging area and testing would not be a requirement.

When I arrived at the post office, I knew with all the attention being placed on the post office I have to be ready to jump. I must maintain my full attention throughout the shift to ensure I wouldn't make any mistakes. I just wanted to be a helpful colleague, assisting in the expedition of parcels to the many consumers within the timelines while working safely and adhering to the covid guidelines in the warehouse.

The supervisor gathered the new group of workers, surprisingly we were all temps. He said his name was Rick Boone and to call him Rick. He had a no-nonsense demeanor. One could tell he had lots on his mind because he had the facial expression as if his shoe were on too tight. It did not take me long to realize that this is going to be a high-pressure fast-paced work environment because the on-the-job training was to the point and very brief. After the training, he took us to an area where there was an endless number of boxes to be moved and stacked in order for loading on trucks. He said you get 2 paid breaks per 8-hour shift. You also get a lunch break. This means a total of 20 minutes for breaks and 30 minutes for lunch. After staring at the boxes, there is no doubt every break will be well earned and welcomed.

Although we were temps, the crew was as a hold were good workers. Yes, there were a few that could not keep up with the pace, but they did put in the effort to get the job done. We worked for several hours and the manager made another appearance to announce our first break. I called him over to ask him a question. I noticed there was a package wrapped in brown paper being used as a doorstop.

I pointed to the package and said, “Rick, I noticed there is a package keeping that door open. Should we stack the package with the others?”

“That’s observant of you. No, that package has been here for a while and we use it as a doorstop,” replied Rick.

“I thought all packages were required to reach their destination.”

“That is the desire of the post office; however, that is not a reality. Such a package will be defined as Undeliverable As Addressed (UAA). Mail that cannot be delivered to the name and address specified on the parcel must be forwarded, returned, or treated as waste. We have tried many times to forward or returned the package, but were unsuccessful. Finally, we gave up and decided to use it as a doorstop, due to the weight.”

“You didn’t have any curiosity to open the package.”

“No. After working at the post office for a while, packages are just packages as you can see.” Rick pointed to the many packages in the area. “In time, you become numb. To us, they all are the same, just packages. We just decided to put this package to use as a doorstop.”

“That’s very interesting. Thank you for your time.”

“Thank you for your curiosity.”

Rick walked away and joined the rest of the crew resting from the hard work. One of the guys, Mike said, “I saw you talking to Rick. Don’t you know that post office management is usually mean and has poor social skills with employees?”

“Rick seemed like a nice guy.”

“You didn’t think he wanted to bite to the head off of a cat when he was training us.”

“I admit, he does present himself as very intimidating.”

“Trust me, they all are. You haven’t heard of employees going postal?”

“Sure, but what does that have to do with Rick.”

“It’s because of management that employees go postal.”

“Is that a fact?”

“The majority of the incidents. Did you hear about the Oklahoma Massacre?”

“No.”

“Listen to this. The Oklahoma police reported a letter carrier, a "disgruntled postal worker," fitted the profile of a potential mass killer. A socially inept loner, he was unable to hold a job for long and blamed management for his problems. His fascination with guns was fed his desire to enlist in the service, in which he became a small-arms expert. Frustrated at being formally disciplined by his postal supervisor several times, he had on two occasions threatened revenge. After receiving a reprimand on August 19, he reported the next morning armed with three semiautomatic pistols and ammunition. He entered the facility, shot his supervisor to death, and tracked his co-workers through the building, killing fourteen and wounding six. He then killed himself.”

“You said, the police reported he fit the profile of a potential mass killer.”

“There was also an employee meeting prior to the shooting. The Union Secretary said, ‘A few of us were talking about it a few weeks ago and someone said that one of these days someone is going to go off the nut and shoot somebody.' He also said after the shooting, ‘'This is not an isolated incident. There have been other confrontations. Most people can let off steam and then walk away. This time it was taken to the ultimate.’''

“You have to admit the shooter was crazy.”

“Ok. How about when the postal worker in New Jersey shot two former co-workers to death at the post office. The night before, dressed in a black ninja costume, he entered the home of his former supervisor and handcuffed the family. He killed one former supervisor with a three-foot samurai sword, and shot her fiancé, in their home. After sexually assaulting his wife and two daughters, he shot a second supervisor to death. There was a four-hour standoff with police at the post office, where he was arrested. His violent outburst was one of several high-profile attacks by postal workers that resulted in the addition of the phrase “going postal” to the American lexicon. Over the years, there have been numerous murderous rampages in post offices.”

Rick returned and announced break time had ended. I looked at Rick somewhat differently, after listening to the stories. However, I kept my facial expression expressionless. I didn’t want Rick or Mike to contemplate what I was thinking at the time. Mike did give me something to think about, as the crew return to the work area stacking boxes. To keep the thought out of my mind, I focused all of my efforts on the work. I was working like a well-oiled machine, moving box after box, even picking up the minimal efforts of some of the guys that couldn’t keep up with the pace.

At the end of the day, my efforts did not go unnoticed. Rick and the Manager of the officer were watching us work. Rick entered the work area to address the crew prior to us leaving the facility. He said, “This office had not ever requested the employee assistance from a Temp Agency. This was a trial process that we were willing to try. My boss and I think that it was a success. Some of you were absolutely outstanding workers. We were very impressed. We will send a report to the Temp Agency listing all of the workers that were exceptional. I’m pretty sure you know who you are. Just as the individuals that think they were not meeting standards are aware of who they are. We would like to thank all of you for your efforts and have a nice day.”

The crew disbursed and began to funnel towards the exit. Rick called my name. I wasn't aware he knew my name. He told me he would like me to remain behind he wanted to discuss something with me. I walked up to Rick.

“Did I do something wrong?” I asked.

“No, just the opposite. You have done many things right.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I was very pleased with your curiosity about the package blocking the door.”

“The doorstop.”

“Yes, the doorstop. There was also your performance. My boss and I noticed that you were the best worker among the crew. I don’t know where you get your inspiration. All I can say, please keep that drive where ever you go and good things will happen in your life.”

“Thank you for your kind words.” I was thinking, if he only knew I was inspired by the stories from Mike and my fear of trying to befriend him, due to the horrific stores of disgruntled employees, going postal, wanting to kill their supervisors.

“I mentioned to my boss the conversation we have about the doorstop. He was so impressed with your performance, he told me to give you the doorstop as a memento. We hope you will accept this with our greatest appreciation.”

Rick gave me the doorstop. “Thank you. I will cherish the doorstop more than you know.”

We shook hands and I left the facility with the doorstop. When I arrived home, before placing the doorstop on my dining room table, I took a long at the brown paper covering the packing. I was searching for the addresses. Both addresses were no longer on the package, due to making contact with the floor over time. My thought of ever returning the package was erased at that moment.

Like I stated at the beginning of this story, my life was changed in more ways than one. The series of events starting with the Covid 19 pandemic, losing my job, using the temp agency, sitting in the waiting room watching the postal effects on the election, being assigned to work at the local post office, working in the parcel area, having Rick as my supervisor, being curious about the suspicious package blocking the door, speaking with Mike about postal supervisors, giving maximum effort to block the thoughts of the talk, Rick noticing my effort, and Rick’s boss decided to reward me with the package all led to me opening the package one week later and finding a million dollars in small unmarked bills.

I’m now part-owner of an online Temporary Agency. As Rick said, good things would happen in my life and they did for sure.

Mystery
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About the Creator

Fabian Ellis

I have a Master’s Degree in Business and Bachelor in Art and Mathematics. I've proudly served in two branches of the armed forces, the Navy (Enlisted) and the Marines (Officer). I'm a writer and an inventor who enjoys creating new ideas.

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