Love is in the Air

The Hespeler Post Office was a busy place on Monday mornings; and this day in late February of 1973 was no different. The first mail truck had arrived around 5am and the work floor was humming, a “beehive” of activity. In the letter carrier section, the six carriers were sorting up their routes for delivery.
It had been a hard winter of cold, snow and ice; but this day was promising to be sunny and pleasant. Everyone was in a great mood and the conversation was nearly all about spring. Someone mentioned they had seen their first robin on Sunday, and Bob commented that the crocuses were coming up in his south-facing flowerbed. Roddie had noticed the local geese were beginning to pair up!
But of course, anytime you put a group of mailmen together, the subject of conversation is bound to turn to dogs.
Our senior carrier, Bill, was a natural leader and highly respected among his peers. A navy veteran, he had worked for the Town of Hespeler on the Board of Works and as a Constable, prior to taking a position with the Canada Post Office Department. He was blessed with a wry sense of humour, and usually carried it off with the expression of a poker player.
Bill, offhandedly commented that he had witnessed his neighbour’s female dog on their front lawn Sunday morning and he was certain it was sick. Given the time of year, speculation revolved around distemper, rabies or perhaps even poison. Violet asked how he knew it was sick and everything stopped while awaiting his response. Following a long pause, he deadpanned; “Well, it must have been sick, there was another dog behind it trying to push it over to the vet”!
The work floor exploded in laughter and we got on with the day.

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