Disgruntled postal worker, anyone??

I actually got to see a mailman snap mentally once. Not really something I'd want to witness again, really. Dog owners, please, keep your pet in check or the mailman shall.

*shudder*

I've got two points of comparison for mail workers:
My brother spent a summer as a part-time postal worker. He had many excellent stories to tell of those days. Unfortunately, at one point (years later) his car was burgled, and the postal uniform was taken. It was the main souvenir he had.

About a year or so ago, a lot of mail in my town was not being delivered. After a little investigation, it was discovered that one disgruntled employee was *dumping mail in the lake*. Very high class, that.

I'd say these guys need to focus more on working together effectively to facilitate win-win solutions in the problem-solving and decision-making process and to better recognize opportunities for consensus in the midst of perceived conflict.

Because, don't ya know, it's all about perceived conflict.

You know that Soundgarden song "Mailman"? That's a really cool song.

So... for some reason we were really into making slingshots one summer. Apparently rubber bands were difficult to come by back then. Somebody got the bright idea to ask the mailman for any extras he had one day and was pleasantly surprised when he gave up a handful.

This turned out to be a tactical error on the mailman's part because the neighborhood was crawling with kids. Every day he'd hear unsolicited requests from the late bandwagon-jumpers: "Can I have some rubber bands?" "Do you have any rubber bands?"

He finally snapped one day when he found one of the younger kids (maybe eight at the time) standing outside the mail truck as he was preparing to get in and drive off. There was the inevitable request-- "Hey, you got any rubber bands?"-- and he mailman, without changing expression, reached into the truck, pulled out a huge barrel of rubber bands (a real live Donkey Kong-style wooden barrel), and dumped it on the kids head without saying a word.

Heh. There were no further requests. This was years before all those shootings so I guess we got off lucky.

We broke so many windows that year, and taught the local squirrels the folly of trying to cross the streets by wire...

And if that fails, the bailing wire.

And hey, if for some reason you aren't quite achieving the results you need with a coworker and/or acquaintance/friend, you can use those same materials to repair virtually any engine problem associated with a rear-engine Volkswagen Bug!

but true. Gotta love the air cooled engine. Makes things not need as many hoses.