Wouldn’t we all like to freeze frame this week?  The beautiful weather makes walking to school a delight, and encourages sipping coffee at Summit or visiting with neighbors, friends…or even employees at the Davidson Post Office.

Smiling faces ready to help you with those "sturdy packaging products" are (l-r) Danny Ketner, Tim Honeycutt, Sue Mitchell, Anna Christy and Mitch Jones. (Missing is Boyce Brooks, on vacation this week.)

Today’s Around Davidson weighs in on the debate about our post office and our postal employees.  In addition we bring you news of Madeline Burgess in Dublin for a year, the Molineks touring Europe for a month and a new book by Tom Cotter.

TWO CENTS’ WORTH ON THE POST OFFICE SQUABBLE

Hey! I thought Davidson residents were kind and caring.  Maybe not always patient – but wait a minute!  Reading the complaints on DavidsonNews.net and hearing people fuss got my dander up.  Having lived here for almost 35 years and had post office boxes as well as rural delivery for all that time, our family has seen many changes in the Davidson Post Office since the tenure of the fabled W.B. Mayhew and John Fisher as postmasters.  We have taken the time to get to know our postmasters and employees and remembered them each Christmas with cookies.  What has happened to being nice?

Complain all you want but remember that these seasoned, unflappable counter employees, Anna Christy (26 years), Tim Honeycutt (25 years), Danny Ketner (20 years), Mitch Jones (15 years) and Sue Mitchell (4 years) are just doing their job.  They are evaluated weekly as to their prowess in spouting the postal mantra about hazardous materials in the box you are mailing or about items you might wish to buy.  If keeping your job meant “toeing the line,” wouldn’t you do the same?  A patron has only to hear this blather for perhaps 30 seconds.  Imagine having to repeat it to customers some 100 times a day week after week, month after month.  Why not let your Congressman be the recipient of your tirade rather than the employee at the counter?

And fuss all you want about standing in line and listening to their spiel (which is a condition of their employment), but have you considered taking this time to visit with your neighbors in line or thought to ask the postal employees at the counter how their day is going?  Ask to see a photo of Tim’s granddaughter?  Is Anna’s mother getting along okay at The Pines?  Commiserate with Danny about the Red Sox?  How is Mitch’s garden doing?  What church project is occupying Sue’s free time?

Visiting with Davidson’s postmistress, Elaine Funderburk, we learned that the stamp machine removal was an edict from Washington, that all the talk about supplies is an effort to boost revenue (again an edict from Washington), and because we are a larger post office, employees must endure the monotony of the same words to each customer.  (Mt. Mourne on the other hand does not have to comply due to small size and fewer hours of operation.)

Put yourself in their shoes.  Get to know our Davidson Post Office employees.  Smile and talk to them.  You will be glad you did!   ‘Nuff said.

A YEAR OF SERVICE FOR MADELINE BURGESS

Kudos to Madeline Burgess, oldest daughter of Riley and Barbee Burgess of Grey Road, as she begins her first week in Ireland as a Young Adult Volunteer (YAV).  A recent NC State graduate (May ’09) ,

Madeline Burgess

Madeline was active in Presbyterian Campus Ministry during college and spent a semester abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, which encouraged her thinking about joining the YAV program.  This program was begun about seven years ago by the Presbyterian Church USA.  It sends young college graduates to various sites around the United States and several assignments abroad. Following a week of orientation in Stony Point, NY, with 66 other YAV volunteers, Madeline arrived this past Monday in Ireland.

Madeline will spend a year in the community of Dundonald, a suburb of Belfast, working with the Methodist Church in Ireland. Half of her time will be devoted to helping in a community center and the other half working at the Dundonald Methodist Church assisting with Sunday school, worship, visiting shut-ins and “restarting” a program for young mothers.  The church provides housing for Madeline with another YAV volunteer who has a different assignment.

Certainly Madeline will have a busy year and lots of experiences to share with family and friends when she returns late next summer.  Riley and Barbee hope to visit next spring and learn firsthand about Madeline’s work with youth attempting to build better relationships and reconciliation in an area that has seen its share of conflict.  Best of luck to you, Madeline.

TRAVELS WITH THE MOLINEK FAMILY

Lots of planning went into this summer’s adventure for Frank and Donna Molinek and their children, Rudy and Sullivan.  Each family member was given an assignment to research a town or recreational area in Europe with the plan that the family would spend a week in each spot chosen.  What a great idea for the month of June!

The Molineks (from left: Frank, Donna, Rudy and Sullivan) at Dingle Bay.

With most arrangements made before departure, the family made use of planes, trains, buses, rental cars and their feet!  They spent the first week in Prague, the second in Paris, the third on the Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula and a final week in Dublin.  With great pre-planning, they secured apartments at each destination and were able to visit grocery stores and markets to purchase items for meals.  (How smart considering how quickly Euros evaporate in restaurants!)

The Molineks visited all the tourist sights at each stop and found that overall they enjoyed the Dingle Peninsula the best with its great weather, hiking paths, views of the coast, tasty beer and good music.  Donna had to smile when recounting their overnight in Cork in a tiny hostel room with lots of loud neighbors who partied most of the night.  As Donna said, “They stayed up way later than we are used to!”

The rest of the summer flew by for the family and now they are all back to their routines:  Sullivan in 7th grade at Bailey, Rudy a junior at North, Donna teaching at Davidson, and Frank keeping busy as an EMT, realtor and cattleman – with memories of a wonderful family trip.

MOTORCYCLE STORIES FROM TOM COTTER

Westmoreland Farm resident Tom Cotter has a new book – his fifth.  The previous works have dealt with automotive rescue (Cobras and Hemis), the history of the Holman Moody race team, and a biography of Dean Jeffries.  A motorsport enthusiast and regular contributor to “Road & Track,” Tom’s newest book, “The Vincent in the Barn:  Great Stories of Motorcycle Archaeology,” delves into his deep-seated love for motorcycles. It is available at Main Street Books.

Tom Cotter's latest is available at Main Street Books.

This 256 page book (with wonderful photos) chronicles Tom’s efforts to chase down forgotten classic bikes including a great Russian, a Ducati and even finding a “lost” Indian in an attic.  As the book jacket reads:  It is every motorcyclist’s dream:  The classic bike parked and forgotten, waiting to be discovered and turned loose on the road again.”  (Know of a forgotten motorcycle that needs “checking out?”  Let Tom know.)

The author and his wife, Pat, live in Davidson.  Their son, Brian, is a freshman at Wake Forest University.  Congratulations, Tom, on your newest book.

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Have news for Brenda? Write to her at hbarger@bellsouth.net.

Comments Disabled To "Two cents on the P.O., travels to Europe, a book on motorbikes"

#1 Comment By Carol Corey On September 3, 2009 @ 3:47 pm

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