Postman brings much more than mail

MUSCLE SHOALS - Even the dogs on Floiran Mercado's route love to see him coming.

One beep from his truck's horn and they come running from their midday nap for the treat they know he's got hiding among the stacks of magazines and piles of mail. And, luckily for the dogs, Mercado never fails to deliver on the bacon-flavored strips or, for the two-legged customers along the way, the mail.

You might expect a wave now and then from the folks on his route, perhaps even a friendly bit of small talk to go with the "Hi. How are you?" But Mercado has carved a niche for himself on the 28 miles he travels six days a week as a carrier with the Muscle Shoals Post Office, one he's cultivated during the years he's spent stuffing mailboxes full of letters and packages.

"I guess I could just leave the mail, but the people on my route are more than that to me," he said. "They're like an extension of my family, and they've become my friends."

As such, the mailbox serves as a two-way street for communication for people such as Stacy Hughes on the Lenz Street portion of Mercado's delivery day. Just as Mercado will leave hard candies and other treats for Hughes' two children on Saturday, Hughes will sometimes slip a thank-you or small gift in the box for Mercado.

"I mentioned to him that the flag on my mailbox was messed up, and he went ahead and fixed it," she said. "I didn't even know his name until I called to get it to thank him for all these things he does for us, and I realized how I knew so little about him, but he really does so much for us."

Mercado's Southern drawl, slight though it is, remains tinged by the Puerto Rican accent of his heritage. The retired military man came to Alabama from New York with his wife and child in tow in the early 1990s. He wasn't expecting to get into civil service, "but I needed a job, and I thought I might get into computers. Everything was going that way then," he said.

"I was a student at (the University of North Alabama) at the time, and I saw this opening, and I went for the first test, and didn't hear anything for a while. Then, I went for the second test, and, some time after that, I found out I got the job."

Lee Nall, postmaster at the Muscle Shoals office, welcomed Mercado, or "Merc" as he's come to be known by the staff, in 1995, getting him acquainted with the job and its expectations.

"If you think about it, the postal service is one of the few governmental agencies that touch people's lives every day," he said. "If you never have anything else to do with the U.S. government, you'll see the postal service, and Merc, because he gets to know the customers, gets involved. And he likes to say he owns his route."

After six years of filling in on routes for other workers, Mercado got his own route, and it's the one he has today, the one he said he plans to keep until he retires.

There's a degree of longevity with the postal service because it's one of the few jobs with starting pay at $23 or $24 an hour that doesn't require a college degree, Nall said.

"But don't think this is an easy job," he said. "We're responsible for delivering mail to 32,000 people every day. That's roughly 8,800 mailboxes."

In addition to good benefits and Sundays and all major holidays off, there are other, less tangible perks of being a mailman, Mercado said.

"I have whole families on my route," Mercado said. "I deliver the mail to the daughters and mother, or I might have cousins or sisters who I see each day."

It's no wonder, then, that he'll leave a baby gift for the newest member along his route or a birthday card for a longtime customer, something he's as likely to do as put a penny stamp on a phone bill for someone who was unaware of an increase in postage rates.

"One lady left me more than 6,000 pennies that she'd collected after I added a stamp to her mail," Mercado said. "She didn't have to leave anything, but she did."

Others will benefit from this generosity, but, to their postman, it's just one more way he pays for the love he has for his job.

Mornings find Merc sorting and bundling the mail for his customers. It's a tight space, designed for organization and efficiency, but, in between the mail slots and rubber bands, he's made some meaningful additions, including the handwritten note from a child that reads: "I hope you like the ocean."

Wrapped in the paper is a bit of seashell, gathered and brought back from the beach as a gift for Mercado.

There are other mementoes from his career scattered about or in his desk drawer, and it's those things he remembers on the days when it's especially hot and humid or an icy winter's rain keeps his arm damp during his delivery.

"Riding in the truck can take some getting used to," Mercado said. "It's a little like being in a tin can."

With just a small fan keeping the air circulating, one of the hazards of the job is car sickness. Over time, mail carriers get used to the constant stopping and starting as well as the regulations that require the window to be raised and the truck locked each time they exit the vehicle.

To keep himself company, Mercado might sing a few bars of a song in his head, and he may make a call from his cell phone. But as often as his hand goes into a mailbox, it will also be raised in greeting to a customer collecting the mail.

"It does get hot; I'll say that," he said. "And summertime can be miserable. I don't walk my route, but it still takes me about six hours to get through."

As with most folks in any business, mistakes are made. Packages get left at the wrong door or mail slipped in the wrong box. Mercado is always updating his mental checklist of what house is vacant and which customer is on vacation. And, somehow, it all gets worked out in the end.

Around lunch time, when the rest of the working world is getting up from a desk and running out for a bite to eat, Mercado pulls his truck into the circular driveway of Harry Elledge.

It's a convenient place to stop for lots of reasons, not the least of which is the plate of pork chops or vegetables he'll eat, but it's also the end of the city mail route for Muscle Shoals.

"Harry and I will talk, and Buddy, their dog, won't let me get out of the truck without giving him a treat first," Mercado said. "It's a nice way to spend a break. The conversation and food are always good."

For Elledge, it's also a welcome part of the day.

"Oh, Merc, well, he always stops and we talk," Elledge said. "I guess it don't matter what's on the plate that day, but we'll spend a good bit of time talking about my old truck or his kids. My wife isn't too well, so I look forward to these visits."

Even after all the stops are made, Mercado isn't ready to call it a day. He'll spend the rest of the afternoon in the office and filling in for carriers who may be out for the day.

"If I work until I'm 65, that will be 10 more years," Mercado said. "Who knows? Maybe I'll stay until I just can't do it anymore."

That would be just fine with Hughes and her family.

"I'm sure all mailmen are good and helpful, but I don't think you find someone like him every day," she said. "We're lucky to have him."

Michelle Rupe Eubanks can be reached at 740-5745 or michelle.eubanks@timesdaily.com.