The dedication of Mike the Mailman

It was Monday, Dec. 16 of this year. The mail usually comes late on Mondays due to the weekend glut, so I wasn't surprised to see the flag still up at 1:00 in the afternoon.

Ginnie had put a bundle of our Christmas letters in the mail box for Mike (Mike the Mailman) to post. From my recliner beside the picture window, if I strain real hard, I can see the little red flag sticking up. Sometimes I use the binoculars to make sure. I can also see when the mail arrives. Mike usually waves. That's what you do when you're old people—you sit around and wait for the mail to come. Being a columnist, we get the most newspapers of anyone on Mike's route. He told us this.

BTW: We love Mike the Mailman. If we have a package that won't fit in the mailbox, Mike brings it to our door, along with the mail. The substitute mail person will bring a package to our door also, but put the mail in the mail box for us to tramp out and retrieve. When we had COVID, Mike told us that if there was anything we needed, to be sure and let him know.

At 2:00, 3:00 and 4:00 pm the flag was still up. What is going on? Maybe Mike was here and forgot to put the flag down? (That's never happened.) Ginnie was going to town, so when she was driving out, she jockeyed the car around to check the mail. I was watching, of course, and she text, “Nope” and blew me a kiss.

It had thawed after our weekend snow-and-ice storm, and the roads were sloppy. Maybe Mike was having trouble getting around. I text him, “Are you ok?” He did not reply, which is unusual. Mike usually responds to my texts right away, like when I say, “Ginnie has CC Cookies 4 u.”

So I text my friend Timmy at the post office. “Is there a problem with the mail today?” He did not respond either, which is also unusual. What is going on?

Finally, Timmy text back. “We're swamped. Your mail might not have gone out. Mike came back for a 2nd load.”

Okay. I was cool with that. The post office is plugged with Christmas cards and letters. We'll get our mail tomorrow. No biggy.

At 6:00 o'clock it was dark out. The moon that was just full the night before, The Cold Moon, was like a beacon in the sky. I was settling in to watch MNF, when I saw car lights pull up to our mailbox. I hollered at Ginnie, “Our mail's here! That poor Mike is still out!” As he was pulling away I waved, but in the dark I couldn't tell if he waved back. He probably did.

Knowing that Mike had mail to deliver after he left our house, I text him. “Ur a hell of a man, Mike!” No response.

At 9:00 p.m., Mike finally text me. “I'm fine. I sure enjoyed that moon and the Christmas lights.”

I text back. “R u just getting home?”

“Yup.”

Now that's dedication! Not rain, nor snow, nor a glut of Christmas cards and letters will keep the mail from going through!

Ginnie said, “I'll have to fix Mike a chocolate pie.”

I'm teaching creative writing class again this year at our house in Mt. Pleasant. We meet on Saturday afternoons at 1:00 p.m. for six Saturdays starting with January 11. I have a Zoom link for people who are far away or in case of inclement weather. I also limit the class to six students, so there is plenty of time for individual attention. This is the fifth or sixth year I have taught this class, and there have been some amazing results. Books and poetry have been published and even a movie deal. If you are interested, my contact information is below. Writing is an art form and writers are artists.

Have a good story? Call or text Curt Swarm in Mt. Pleasant at 319-217-0526 or email him at curtswarm@yahoo.com. Curt is available for public speaking.