Dear Editor,
I signed up as a carrier last summer because I was waiting for a job offer as a new immigrant. Deep inside my dream job has always been a postman and distributing the paper is a close second.
Coincidentally when the first stack of paper arrived, I had just recovered from COVID-19 so I was out with my mask and gloves on a hot summer afternoon on my first day of job.
To get some help to navigate a then-foreign neighbourhood, I got my two teenage kids to go with me.
Perhaps still in my recovery mode, I was not expecting them to argue over who would pull the trolley and who would drop the paper off at the door.
After almost an hour, we distributed all the papers, but we began to wonder how we would keep doing that through the rainy winter.
What got us through our first year was really the neighbours!
One older gentleman would greet us by the door, another teenager girl would put down her phone and come out from the balcony to thank us.
The most impressive one was a dog owner who installed a mailbox outside so the carriers would feel safe when dropping off the paper.
All of their friendly smiles and appreciation will always be in our hearts.
My family, especially myself, will miss this weekly routine.
To get paid for taking a walk after supper is motivating!
Just a couple weeks ago my son and I were calculating in our head how much we could make in a year as a carrier during one of our walks.
While our experiences cannot be digitized, the transformation of reader experiences brings a whole new adventure that is waiting for all of us.
Ryan Lee
Richmond
