My entire day consists of interactions. Well, I suppose everyone’s day consists of interactions, really, but when you are a mailman on a small downtown business route, they’re certainly more accentuated. All day long, it’s a random ‘hello’ to a passerby that I may or may not know, then directions to a hard-to-find cafe, and after that, an extended conversation with a customer that continues from the previous day.
So it’s probably a good thing that I’m an ‘ambivert with extrovert tendencies’, according to a webpage that even knows what that is. The point is, interacting with people energizes me. I’d certainly dread my job if the case were otherwise. These are just a fraction of the fantastic folks I get to talk with every day on my route.
If I were to string together my daily conversations into one long paragraph, what would it sound like? Likely, a bit schizophrenic– a discussion about photojournalism, followed immediately by talk of raising chickens. A conversation about public school policies would transition into an ongoing joke about repetitive cable company advertising. It would be punctuated with a lot of hey-how-are-ya’s and intermittent chats about everything from ‘how about this weather’ to ‘why does this company send me the same damn catalog twice a week?’ (U-LINE, are you listening?)
If I have my way, I’ll be on this route until I retire– hopefully with the ability to still climb a set of stairs. Without a doubt, there will be a completely different set of people that I interact with when that time comes. I’m sure I’ll be a different person as well. But hopefully, I’ll still be an ambivert with extrovert tendencies– whatever that means.
About Author
- Jeff can usually be found roaming the streets of Northampton, Massachusetts, pretending to deliver mail. Between deliveries he takes pictures with his iPhone, always in search of new ways of interpreting the world around him. His editing style ranges from minimal to outrageous, and constant experimentation, collaboration, and inspiration from other mobile photographers keeps Jeff motivated to try new things.
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Enjoyable read, personal and casual. Candid and positive images. Thanks for sharing this.
i love this!! What a great day
Great job!! This is great! Love it! Wonderful photos.
Excellent Jeff. As I viewed all these fine folks and the photos of personalities you used to give flesh to the bones of your job, I couldn’t help thinking of the parallel of Michael Scott’s (The Office) company video showing the impact that paper has on lives. Where would we be without our mail. Thanks for giving it a voice.
Love all the different personalities! We always wave hello to our mailman : )
Jeff, I absolutely loved reading this. A great idea for an article. Love the photos too – smiley happy people 🙂
What a wonderful slice of life you get everyday Jeff (plus I’m now hip to what an ambivert is!) Beautifully done.
You have given faces to the people on your route; I hope you share this with them and tell them that they now belong to the IG community at large. Thanks for sharing your job with us and humanizing “the postman”!
Good portion of your day is met by smiles! What a great way to walk through life.
Fantastic day! That made me smile a lot 🙂
That’s my boy!!!!
It just doesn’t matter that our Kim Gordon didn’t make your photo essay this time. This was such a great thing to experience tonight. You’re amazing, Postmaster J.
I’m ready for your next installment Mr Kelley, although I could see this as a vlog so we can hear you too
This is a great story!! The portraits are awesome! Loved the the one with the girl hiding behind her iMac especially! Looks like an old film photo from a 50’s newspaper if you take the Mac out of it :]]
So many beautiful faces, wonderful portrait of people trusting you! What a nice trip in one of your days! Thank you deeply Jeff