My Local Royal Mailman And Sergio the Brazilian, this is why I think people like these deserve recognition in any Country On This Planet.

 

For years, our local postal delivery was frustrating. Letters would sometimes end up in the wrong apartment, deliveries would go missing, and there were all sorts of problems that made you wonder how difficult it could be to get something from one address to another.

But over the past couple of years, I've noticed a remarkable change, and I think the people responsible deserve some recognition.

Our regular postman is a genuinely impressive person. He is polite, hardworking and consistently respectful. He doesn't snap at people or treat residents as an inconvenience, regardless of how busy he may be or how much he has to carry. When he speaks to you, he actually speaks to you—as a human being. There is a warmth and attentiveness in the way he interacts with people that is increasingly rare. Most importantly, the post gets delivered properly. Things don't seem to disappear or end up in the wrong place anymore.

Then there's Sergio, a Brazilian delivery worker who is an entirely different kind of character. Sergio is a big man—built like he could have been a heavyweight boxer—but he is always working in shorts, a T-shirt, trainers and his little pouch around his waist. I've seen him working on Monday mornings and Sunday evenings, and seemingly every day in between. He is incredibly quick and efficient. He rings the bell, you answer, he delivers the item, and then he's gone—almost sprinting away to his next delivery. He has an energy that makes you wonder where he gets it from.

Watching these two men has made me think about the importance of work that we often take for granted. They aren't millionaires or billionaires. They probably won't appear in newspapers or on television. But the things they deliver can be extremely important. It could be a medical letter, something an elderly person is waiting for, an important document, a delivery for a pregnant woman, or something that could genuinely affect someone's health, finances or personal life.

That is why I think people like these deserve recognition. They may not have enormous wealth or public status, but they have an enormous impact on the ordinary lives around them. They show up, they do their jobs, they treat people with dignity, and they understand—whether consciously or not—that what they are carrying matters to someone.

Sometimes the people who contribute the most to a community are the people we barely notice. These two delivery workers reminded me of that. And this morning, I simply felt that they deserved a big-up.