Rain, Snow, Sleet or Hail

With the sun perched high in the sky, melting snow covers the sidewalks while pools of dirty water lie dormant in the streets of Hunting Park. While the residents of North Darien Street prepare for the next snowfall, Cheryl Miller, a United States Postal Service Mail Carrier, wants nothing more than to deliver the

mail.

Miller, who has been with the USPS for 15 years says, “Believe it or not, I love my job.” A mail carrier for eight years, she says she loves this job because it puts her outside with the community.

As the Postal Creed goes, “Neither snow nor rain nor hear nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds,” a motto that Miller is more

than familiar with.

After last Saturday’s 12-14 inches of snow, Miller is glad to see some of it melting off. “Today is a lot better than yesterday. At least it is melting but tomorrow brings a new day,” Miller says about the predicted 14-24 inches projected for late Tuesday into Wednesday. She goes on to say, “We know it’s going to snow but one day they say something on the forecast and then

the next they say another thing.”

She also notes that, not delivering the mail is usually a last resort in order to keep the curriers safe.

“This is the first time since I have been working with them [USPS] that we didn’t have mail delivered,” Miller says about Saturday’s storm. The Postal Service suspended mail delivery for Saturday’s mail so now Miller and other carriers are doing two days worth of work today. "I already did four hours, and me and this guy are doing the last four together,” says Miller, very nonchalantly.

Even though the man digging his car out is cursing Mother Nature and the petite lady a few houses down is dragging a shovel and salt home, Miller would take snow over rain any day. “I like the snow better than the rain because in the rain, the mail gets wet. We have no way to protect peoples mail,” says a selfless Miller, not even at first thinking of her own discomfort but the frustrations of those she

serves.

Miller is delivering mail one block at a time and if the snow happens to come again, she will be prepared to hit the pavement once again because as she puts it, “Mail must be delivered.”

Rachel Horning and Whitney Crawford, Group 28, Hunting Park