That Special Kind of Stupid

I just got back from a friends 60^th birthday party that was held at Melrose Café. I was sure Marsden was older than me, but perhaps that’s because he has this quiet confidence about him. He could just have nothing to say or maybe he wasn’t able to get a word in edgewise when I was around.

There were about thirty to forty people that came to witness and celebrate the milestone. I think the only people that I knew there were Marsden and Alex his wife who did a great job of organizing and keeping the party a secret. I am not always comfortable in large groups and certainly not in a bar setting, but tonight was very nice. I managed to talk to some very interesting people that were sitting at the same table. Marsden’s sister, nephew and his wife and a very nice little man called Oscar. There were others of course but really I just visited with the people around me.

I really can’t deal with more than five or six people at a time, partly because I am unable to give them the attention that they deserve and I have trouble following more than one or two conversations at a time. They were good people and I kind of wish I had mingled a little more because it appears that Marsden has good taste in friends and relatives. It was the kind of low key event that I like.

I first noticed Marsden in the change room at the Post Office. He was one of the few people that would ride his bike to work and I sensed a kindred spirit. I didn’t talk to him then for a couple of reasons. First, it is never advisable to approach a guy in the change room when he is pulling on bicycle shorts. No, really! Secondly, I knew that he was an inside worker and letter carriers just didn’t like inside workers on principle, especially since we were forced to disband LCUC and join CUPW. I don’t blame Marsden for that whole union mess, but I can’t let him off of the hook either.

The next time that Mars became noticed by me was when he bid out of the plant and into the letter carrier section. I saw his name in the order book and then looked at his seniority date which was earlier than mine. I told the guys that I wasn’t going to wait and meet this guy, I was going to get a head start on hating him. You see, anything that is important in the Post Office like holidays and walk selection is done by seniority. Mars had seniority coming out of his ass. The only good thing was that since he was an inside worker, that meant that he was pretty much clueless about how to pick a walk and I had enough seniority to get the holidays I wanted anyways. Besides, very few inside workers stayed as letter carriers because it takes a special kind of stupid to deliver mail.

It turns out that Marsden had that special kind of stupid and he was a pretty nice guy. I managed to get to know him pretty well over the years we worked together, not as well as I would have liked, but I make friends slowly.

I was pleased that I was invited to the party tonight and just want to use the blog to wish Marsden a Happy Birthday!