Love Your Neighbor...Even If They Hit Your House, Your Car, or Your Garbage Cans!!!

This Video is Dedicated to Daddy and All of His Post Office Peeps!!!

(Apparently Daddy is not the only one who suffers from his mail jeep slipping in and out of gear!!)

March 1st Daddy officially retired from the Post Office. This was a bitter sweet day for him. His Family and Friends at the US Postal Service threw him a huge surprise party and invited all of us to come and join in the celebration. It was so awesome to see Daddy interact with people that we have heard so much about, including friends he made while simply delivering their mail. They have been so kind to him; making blankets, sending letters and continuing to reach out to him just to ask how he is doing. A Big Huge Thank You and all the Hugs we could give go out to all of them for their love and support but especially to Jamie and Brandon for caring enough to organize such an event and allowing all of us to be a part of it.
I have so many memories of Daddy that are somehow tied to the Post Office. One of my earliest memories is racing home from school because I knew Daddy would be there and turning the corner and wondering why the mail man was mowing our lawn?  I can still smell the fresh cut grass, and feel the bonce of the trampoline as he stopped what he was doing and jumped with me a bit.  I also recall many times when my friends and I would ride the bus down to Lehi and walk up and down the streets until we found Daddy, and his "LLV" (mail jeep) Now I am not saying that he ever let us ride in the back of his LLV, but I have a pretty good idea how much fun it would be if he had. However my all time favorite thing about Daddy being a Mail Man was that when people asked me "Who do you belong to? The Mailman?" (which of course was supposed to be a sarcastic comment about how I look nothing like my Mother, who is absolutely beautiful by the way!) I got to reply with, a very sincere "yes, I do."  There are a lot of other memories and many other stories that not only I have but many others were able to share as well, here are just a few that we love...

MRS ALDER
(Moms favorite story)
 In our Family, Mrs. Alder is known as, the "Harley Chick." Daddy would always talk about Mrs. Alder, I guess you could say in some ways he was suffering a "High School Crush!" One day Daddy found himself with a certified letter addressed to....you guess it, Mrs Alder! He was so excited, a certified letter meant all his dreams were about to come true, because he would have to go to the door and get her signature.  As he pulled up to her house he jumped out of his jeep and as I imagined went skipping to the door. After knocking and for some unknown reason, maybe Karma, he turned around to see his jeep rolling backwards down the street straight for a fire hydrant! Throwing his mail in the air, he ran after his jeep, jumping in it at the last second, stopping it just in time and in his mind, fulfilling his duty as "Super Hero" for the day. Then very pleased with himself he looked up and there was Mrs. Alder, out on her front porch. He drove back up the street as she waited and very unlike Lois Lane, her comment was something to the effect of "Looks like this isn't the first time that's happened!." Daddy tried to laugh it off and make a joke about the effectiveness of emergency brakes in Government vehicles and then, "Ego" in hand, he walked away. The Harley and Mrs. Alder were not so Cool after that.

She's a Brick House...
(90 day probationary period)

When Daddy first started at the Post Office he was given 90 days on a probationary period to prove he was able and capable to perform the job duties required. Daddy knew he was being watched as well as timed, this is key to understanding why Daddy's idea was such a great one. You see, to save time Daddy would pull up to a house and instead of putting on the break he would simply turn the tires into the curb so it would be much faster when jumping back in and taking off for the next house, oh yeah did I mention he didn't put the jeep in park either?! I guess if you add up what I imagine would have been about 3 additional seconds at each stop, with an average of 700 houses on his route,  he was saving himself about 35 min a day by not shifting into park and avoiding the emergency brake all together, just enough time for a quick nap at the Cemetery, theory seems sound, right? Well, while in his first 90 days and practicing this method he may of hit a few things. Basketball Hoops, Garbage Cans, even a Christmas Tree (which he drug out of a garbage can and down the street a few houses before even noticing, Then he drug the tree back up the street and put it back into the can, all while the Postmaster was in another vehicle watching) but the best was the "Brick House." While practicing his previously mentioned method, his jeep rolled down the street and before Daddy could catch it, BAM!!! Right into the corner of a house!!!! Daddy went to the door and pleaded with them to not call the Post Office, he promised he would fix it "better than new" and thanks to their compassion and our Friend "Terry" the Brick Mason, the house was fixed just as Daddy had promised, "better than new."

Drivers Licenses Come in Cracker Jack Boxes Now?!
Daddy had another incident at a Floral Shop in Lehi, only this time it was as if the car was teasing him and tempting the decisiveness of fate. The jeep didn't start to go forward until daddy was nearly in front of it so he turned around and again in "Super Hero" fashion tried to stop the jeep, but as Daddy will explain to you now, he was weak that day because he was without the many "Super Powers" he believes he has come to acquire from his CHEMO treatments, one of them being super human strength, of course. So he had no choice but to step out of the way and BAM! Right into the Floral shop, to which the owner stepped out and exclaimed the question of the century...."Where did you get your Drivers License? A Cracker Jack Box?!" The answer Sir, is Yes, definitely a Cracker Jack Box!!!

Spraying a Blind Dog is Just as Effective as Spraying Any Dog!
Every day there was a certain house Daddy was prepared for and mace in hand he would approach the house and everyday the dog that lived there would come out, nose in the air and approach Daddy, and everyday routine, as it would seem brought Daddy to the decision to spray this dog and hope it had finally learned its lesson. Well one day while talking to another carrier Daddy shared this story and the carrier found himself lost in laughter, finally explaining to Daddy that the dog he had been spraying each day was, BLIND!!!

There are always other stories when it comes to Daddy and this night many more were shared and laughed at, like the advice he had given one co-worker on how they could reattach a mirror so it would go undetected if inspected, another was of course around how to save time on your route, and many others but the best part of this event for us was validation from others of just exactly who Daddy is as a person. What I mean by this is that it is natural and very normal for a Family to love and adore their Father, but to see that others hold him in the same regard as us, is not shocking but extremely satisfying. Daddy has always taught us to love others and to be kind to those we interact with. Daddy lives this and it is a part of the very definition of who he is. A Definition that I believe is found within the depths of each of our hearts. I believe that there are various components within every one's owns definition, but not all of us exemplify our belief of this everyday, and Daddy does it so naturally. You would know this simply by asking anyone of us in his family, any one of his co-workers, people who live on his mail route, people who live in our ward, all of his friends and absolutely any one he has ever interacted with at the Utah Cancer Center. He is an inspiration and the absolute meaning of what it is to love your neighbor. This is who Daddy has always been, before Cancer, during cancer and without a doubt who he will be after cancer. He is someone everyone is drawn to and loves. Regardless of circumstance, it is the one thing that will never change about him. Regardless of treatment, sickness, side-effect or pain, Daddy will always love others with all his heart and will always be an example to us to do the same. Love your neighbors, be kind to them whether you are delivering their mail, or sitting next to them in a treatment center. Everyone needs love, they need HOPE and without even knowing it, through his daily example, Daddy has given this to all of us!