Country Mailman

Tune in every week to read about the adventures of Buck Buchanan, fictional country mailman, delivering mail out of Starz, Texas. He takes his job seriously and knows that customers count on him to deliver every piece of mail entitled to them. He is all about customer service. With a willing ear and a helping hand, Buck Buchanan goes the extra mile.

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The Post Office was quiet as I sorted my mail. Then I heard a big sigh and knew the postmaster had run into problems. He dropped three envelopes on the front of my case and stood waiting.

“Who are these people?”

After looking at the first envelope, I had to smile at the painfully scrawled writing. It was addressed to: Mamaw, Starz, Texas. The return address said: John, Glen Rose. “This is Liz Dickson who lives on County Road 400 and it’s from her youngest grandson who ought to be in first grade by now.” I noted his raised eyebrow and explained. “Liz’s son is a basketball coach at the Glen Rose high school. They moved there two years ago.”

I didn’t explain that he and his wife spent five years trying to adopt a child and ended up with little John, a Russian baby, just before Russia closed all foreign adoptions. Nor did I explain that the entire community gave them a baby shower. Some things outsiders just don’t understand.

The next envelope was just as easy. The full name and address were written, but the writing was so shaky, I understood his confusion. “This goes to James Nellon on Farm Road 46. It’s from his father who has palsy and lives in a nursing home in Abilene.” I pointed to the return address where the town’s name was distinguishable. I didn’t bother to explain that the senior Mr. Nellon was a retired Highway patrolman who singlehandedly pulled five people out of burning cars in one of the worst pile-ups in the area during a rare winter blizzard. I know that because one of the people he saved was me. I was eighteen at the time, trapped, and unconscious with a head injury. My only memory of it was Mr. Nellon’s hand on my shoulder telling me everything would be fine. And he was right.

The third envelope took me a full minute before a light clicked in my head. “This one says Miss Elise Neugebauer on County Road 1790, but she got married three years ago and became a Krauser. We stopped forwarding her mail long ago.” I studied the return address and frowned. “This might be important. I’ll deliver it to her mom. She’ll either send it or take it to her the next time she visits.” I didn’t add that her mother visited Elise once a month to help with the new twins, staying four days each time so her daughter could take a break from motherhood. At first, Elise’s father was not happy to be left alone to fend for himself, but the last time I saw him at Edna’s café, he was beginning to enjoy the freedom. Seems as if he found a poker game. It isn’t the same one I visit, but I know several of the participants. His game has much higher stakes than mine, but Jargen Neugebauer farms five sections of land and has a larger cashflow than I do. He also has a private airplane and a mighty big boat.

The postmaster turned and disappeared toward the front counter and I took that to mean my suggestion was okay with him. Ten minutes later, I loaded and sat ready to tackle another day of delivering mail.

The first hour of the route was smooth sailing but as soon as I rounded Devil’s Curve, I saw the figure and a car on the side of the road. The girl was trying to lift a tire out of the open trunk. I pressed the accelerator, sped up and gave the horn a honk so she’d stop.

“Quit that right now, young lady,” I yelled from the open window as I pulled up behind her and parked.

She half-smiled as she turned and saw me. “Hi, Buck. Looks like I need some help.”

I nodded and pointed to the small shade that a mesquite offered on the side of the road. Gena Dinsmoor was six months pregnant. “You go stand over there while I change this tire. This heat isn’t doing you any good. And don’t roll your eyes at me, young lady. I’m out in it all day so I ought to know.”

A grin appeared as she ambled toward the ditch and stood under the meager shade. I delivered letters to her from a soldier stationed overseas for two years before they stopped. Then I held her mail for two weeks while she went on vacation. Three months later, the gal starts showing but the letters don’t continue. For three months, I saw her disappointment when I handed her the mail. Then last week, an envelope from the same soldier shows up, but the return address is from a different location. Ever since, there’s been a smile on her face. I can only surmise that the guy either smartened up and realized what he might lose or he was just in limbo and didn’t know what was happening back here in the states. Either way, Gena has a shine in her eyes that every mother-to-be ought to have.

“There you go,” I said as I brushed my hands on my shorts. “You get that tire to Jim McCravy to get patched right away. Don’t want you driving around here without a spare.”

When she hugged me, I knew she was thanking me for more than changing her tire. I just didn’t know what. I hugged her back because she seemed to need it. “You okay, girl?”

“Yes. Edna at the café told me you shamed Ernie and Monty for spreading rumors about me. Thanks.”

I nodded and held the door while she got in the driver’s seat. Books and a backpack sat beside her. “How much longer do you have in college?”

She grinned. “One more online class to finish and I’m through. I could have graduated last month, but the counselor found another class I have to take. I’ll walk across the stage in December.”

“Good for you. Any plans?”

She half-smiled. “Other than have a baby?”

I nodded, not answering because she didn’t need a smart response from me. Nor did she need advice. I suspect her mother and father took care of that. Her father farmed two sections and preached occasionally at the country church when the regular preacher was gone. Her mother taught first grade and gave piano lessons.

“I’ll let you know next month. My…boyfriend is coming home. He’s a Marine.”

“You can’t go wrong there. I’ll bet he’s a fine young man.” I shut the door and stood in the road while she drove away. Kids, you just gotta love ‘um. All of them need help along the way and they might not do exactly what a parent wants, but you can’t ever give up on family.

For the next few miles, I felt a goofy grin on my face as I reviewed my kids’ antics as they got older. Some memories made me chuckle, others made me proud and those that didn’t were easily dismissed. Traveling on the ranch road, I had plenty of time to reminisce as the closest mailbox sat five miles down the pavement.

Old elm trees line the road and although the leaves are still green, there is a feeling of autumn in the air. As I passed by a large section of bushes along the old pipe fence, my foot automatically hit the brake pedal. For an instant, I shook my head, sure that what I thought I saw couldn’t possibly be real. I had to back up since bushes hid the heifer and only when I faced her head on, did I believe the outrageous predicament to be true.

When she saw me staring, a plaintiff sound echoed from her throat and I totally understood. The lady was in a jam and I had no idea how to relieve her situation. She appeared calm and occasionally lowered her head to get a mouthful of the lush grass growing outside the pipe fence, but I couldn’t help wondering how long she had been in that position.

Country roads are rarely travelled and I knew the rancher might not come along for days. I dialed the second emergency number on my phone.

“Jake, you won’t believe what I’m seeing. One of Henry’s cows is straddling his pipe fence. Two feet are on one side and her back feet are barely touching ground on the other. She’s hung between udder and belly.”

I laughed at the sheriff’s disbelieving remark. “Okay, I’ll take a picture with my phone and send it to you. Tell Henry she’s about three miles from the turnoff and I want to know how he gets her out of this predicament.”

I snapped the image, glad the cow didn’t look to be in distress. I’d add it to all the other unusual images I collected along the mail route. Some things are hard to believe and this was in that category, but I’ve witnessed my share of odd sights on the Starz mail route. I’ve seen a bobcat sitting on top of a windmill platform, surveying the landscape as if it was his. I sat at the intersection of Farm Road 400 and Highway 84 as a young man wearing a backpack whizzed by me on rollerblades. He was eighteen miles from any town and judging from the dirt on his face and the heavy tan, had been on the road awhile. Animals and people often act odd, but there’s usually a reason. I don’t always have time to determine what that reason is as I have a job to do and customers who depend on me, but I do enjoy watching the show!