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Floyd Martin retires after nearly 35 years as a mailman tomorrow

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Re: Floyd Martin retires after nearly 35 years as a mailman tomorrow

#51

Post by lm28469 »

lazyjones wrote: post #23
nemo1618 wrote: post #4

Stories like this make you question whether it's worth being paid all this money to spend your life staring at a screen in a climate-controlled cube solving abstract problems that provide approximately zero benefit to your family, friends, and neighbors.

How did you end up choosing to do this? Some of us took this path because we didn't get along with people.

Most people don't really chose consciously. We just follow what we're told until it seems too late to deviate from the course.

I personally ended up in IT because "why not it pays well and I like computers", I wasn't the same person when I chose that path and now I'm actively trying to figure a reasonable way out.

> There are only a few who control themselves and their affairs by a guiding purpose; the rest do not proceed; they are merely swept along, like objects afloat in a river. And of these objects, some are held back by sluggish waters and are transported gently; others are torn along by a more violent current; some, which are nearest the bank, are left there as the current slackens; and others are carried out to sea by the onrush of the stream. Therefore, we should decide what we wish, and abide by the decision. - Seneca

Re: Floyd Martin retires after nearly 35 years as a mailman tomorrow

#52

Post by kasey_junk »

vowelless wrote: post #24

Unlike other commentators, this doesn’t make me feel bad about my cubicle job working on abstract problems. It does make me sad about living in a sterile mega city with no form of community with my neighbors. It makes me miss the days I used to live in a much smaller town, in my home land, where everyone knew each other, and we had shared festivals, feasts and fasts together. Thanks for sharing the twitter thread.

This story takes place in Atlanta. The metro area has something like 6 million people in it. Not a 'mega city' but also not a small town.

Perhaps it's not the city that is causing the lack of community with neighbors?

Re: Floyd Martin retires after nearly 35 years as a mailman tomorrow

#53

Post by rafaelvasco »

mcflibbles wrote: post #49

I worked as a postman for a bit. I'd wake up at 0430, make a short commute, then sort letters into street/house number order for something like 3 hours. After the first few days this became mindnumbingly dull. It was obvious 90% of what I was about to deliver would go straight in the bin so all this drudgery wad largely pointless. For a while I worked in a pretty rough area (by UK standards, admittedly nowhere in the…

Absolutely that's the lesson here. Spread love wherever you go, to everybody, anytime.

Re: Floyd Martin retires after nearly 35 years as a mailman tomorrow

#54

Post by sxates »

phkahler wrote: post #20
ken wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even though I cancel and unsubscribe from everything I can, 95% of what I receive in the mail is paper spam. If I didn't still receive paper paychecks, it'd be even higher. I recognize there's value in having a postal system, but in practice almost everything I receive goes straight in the shredder. It's been taken over by spammers. It's another system that provides real value to a lot of people, but seems to only be…

IMHO regular mail is subsidizing all the junk mail. They offer bulk rates based on the assumption that delivery is already paid for.

It's actually the other way around. The junk mail is paying for your mailman to come by every day. The $.50 for a stamp doesn't cover the cost of delivering a letter.

Re: Floyd Martin retires after nearly 35 years as a mailman tomorrow

#55

Post by wpasc »

kasey_junk wrote: post #52
vowelless wrote: post #24

Unlike other commentators, this doesn’t make me feel bad about my cubicle job working on abstract problems. It does make me sad about living in a sterile mega city with no form of community with my neighbors. It makes me miss the days I used to live in a much smaller town, in my home land, where everyone knew each other, and we had shared festivals, feasts and fasts together. Thanks for sharing the twitter thread.

This story takes place in Atlanta. The metro area has something like 6 million people in it. Not a 'mega city' but also not a small town. Perhaps it's not the city that is causing the lack of community with neighbors?

I disagree, having lived in large cities, everything always feels so impermanent and impersonal. Connections that should be easy to make with neighbors down the hall can feel more difficult than connections with neighbors down a driveway. I'm not sure what causes this phenomenon, but many people report feeling this way.

No sources, but I've seen this notion circulate in articles and other forums.

Re: Floyd Martin retires after nearly 35 years as a mailman tomorrow

#56

Post by kissickas »

kasey_junk wrote: post #52
vowelless wrote: post #24

Unlike other commentators, this doesn’t make me feel bad about my cubicle job working on abstract problems. It does make me sad about living in a sterile mega city with no form of community with my neighbors. It makes me miss the days I used to live in a much smaller town, in my home land, where everyone knew each other, and we had shared festivals, feasts and fasts together. Thanks for sharing the twitter thread.

This story takes place in Atlanta. The metro area has something like 6 million people in it. Not a 'mega city' but also not a small town. Perhaps it's not the city that is causing the lack of community with neighbors?

It's not exactly fair to throw out the population like that with no context - Atlanta is similar to LA in that it is very spread out, a bunch of "suburbs in search of a city." Friendly communities like this are rare in apartment buildings, as far as I've seen. I would love to know why or if there are any notable counterexamples - I would consider moving there!

Re: Floyd Martin retires after nearly 35 years as a mailman tomorrow

#57

Post by PascLeRasc »

snarf21 wrote: post #38
nemo1618 wrote: post #4

Stories like this make you question whether it's worth being paid all this money to spend your life staring at a screen in a climate-controlled cube solving abstract problems that provide approximately zero benefit to your family, friends, and neighbors.

You need to separate your work from your purpose. Think of work as merely collecting resources to maintain life. Get a hobby or volunteer at a charity and find purpose there. I've been much happier with putting my "self" into designing and testing board games. I forget about the dumpster fire after I leave and focus my energy on something I enjoy creating.

I agree with the sentiment somewhat, but when we're spending the majority of our waking days at the "dumpster fire" and just a few hours doing what we love, it feels wrong and depressing.

Re: Floyd Martin retires after nearly 35 years as a mailman tomorrow

#58

Post by retiredcoder »

mcescalante wrote: post #43
petra wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not about the job. This guy, probably, isn't valued because he delivers packages. My guess is that he's valued because of his ability to connect with people, and his infectious happiness.

This. I was just reading some messages on the gofundme for his vacation (mentioned in thread) and one of the families on his route said that he remembers every childs names, even after they have left the house, which to me is something you would only expect of a good friend. It seems like he is just a genuinely good guy who cares about these people and as you said, has the ability to connect with them on a level that…

Or maybe he didn’t have to go thru daily stand-ups and have to say how many letters will be delivered today.

Just kidding, kudos for him and some people are indeed gifted to make friends and connections intuitively.

On the other hand, there are jobs that make connecting to other people harder if not impossible. I used to work for Microsoft during the poignant stack rank time and it was utterly hard to build trust with anyone. I never played that game but competition was part of the culture and it ruined genuine relationships at any level.

Re: Floyd Martin retires after nearly 35 years as a mailman tomorrow

#59

Post by bluedino »

hirundo wrote: post #42
onion2k wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you'd started 35 years ago you could have had a decent quality of life earning a living as a mailman. If you're starting out now you'll probably need a second job to make ends meet if you're in an expensive part of the country..

Entry level mail carrier makes an average of $35k. It goes up to $55k after 20 years. That's around $17.50 to $27.50 per hour. That's not wealth, but it isn't poverty either. https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Postal_Service_Mail...

Thanks to Amazon, you can get all the overtime you want right now.

The problem with the new jobs at the postal service is that everyone gets brought in for the first ~ year as a temp of sorts.

The hiring process is full of nepotism as well. Also, unfair or not, veterans get hiring priority as well.

Re: Floyd Martin retires after nearly 35 years as a mailman tomorrow

#60

Post by cortesoft »

wpasc wrote: post #55
kasey_junk wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This story takes place in Atlanta. The metro area has something like 6 million people in it. Not a 'mega city' but also not a small town. Perhaps it's not the city that is causing the lack of community with neighbors?

I disagree, having lived in large cities, everything always feels so impermanent and impersonal. Connections that should be easy to make with neighbors down the hall can feel more difficult than connections with neighbors down a driveway. I'm not sure what causes this phenomenon, but many people report feeling this way. No sources, but I've seen this notion circulate in articles and other forums.

I wonder if it is because YOU are at an impermanent phase in your life. I live in Los Angeles, and would have said the same thing five years ago. However, in the last five years I have gotten married, had two kids, and bought a house.

I feel much more connected to my location now. I have met my neighbors more than I ever did before buying a house, and have met many who have lived in the neighborhood for multiple generations.

I feel like it takes making yourself more permanent before connections with neighbors become real.

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