The History of Female Leadership in the NALC
This podcast’s purpose is to give a history of women who have stepped into leadership roles within the National Association of Letter Carriers, and discuss the leaders of now and into the future.
The History of Female Leadership in the NALC
Elisabeth Gray Goodwin
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This episode features Elisabeth Gray Goodwin, member of Branch 283, Houston, Texas. She is the Director of Retirees for the Texas State Association.
It's just a fancy.
SPEAKER_00Welcome to the History of Female Leadership in the NALC podcast. I'm Craig Schaefer. I'm a member of Branch 1015, Cape Girardeau, Missouri. And today I am honored to have a sister from Texas. If you don't mind, go ahead and introduce yourself.
SPEAKER_01Okay, my name is Elizabeth Goodwin, and I'm a member of Branch 283 in Houston, Texas. I am a retiree. I retired 1231 2008. So I've been retired a little bit. And um I I also um am a former member of branch 70 in San Diego because that is where I started my postal career in uh San Diego in 1982. My first day of work was 11-1, 1982.
SPEAKER_00Wow, that is awesome. So um I assume that you joined the union in 1982 then as well.
SPEAKER_01Well, actually, I joined the union after my 90-day probation was up. So that would have been in 1983.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so um now my my next question for you would be what brought you to the postal service in the first place?
SPEAKER_01Um I've I don't know. I honestly and truly, I believe God has been preparing me for this job my entire life because in um I I just it's it's just been that that direction, um, places that I've gone and then jobs that I've had um with the Postal Service and the union. Any and so I um I was working as um a receptionist at the time the mailman came in and in San Diego. And sorry, I I say mailman. If if I'm delivering mail and I knock on the door and a little kid answers and says, Who is it? I'm saying the mailman because it's a lot easier for someone to understand. It says nothing about me as a person, it is merely a job title, anyways. As um so uh they were hiring and um I talked to him about it, and he said, Yeah, you to do it. And I filled out my card and then I took the test, and um I was very fortunate. I got a 97.3 score without any veterans benefits um added to that, but it still took several years for me to get my job. And um then I I got hired, and I the starting pay for me was $9.95. And my thought was I'm finally getting paid what I'm worth.
SPEAKER_00There you go. Yeah, that's that's wild to think at $9.95, but I guess that was pretty good money in 82 or 83 anyway.
SPEAKER_01So that's yeah, well, yeah, and and health benefits that were good, and and um, it was it was a retirable job.
SPEAKER_00Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Um, so you know, you you joined the union in 83, and uh you uh obviously decided at some point to kind of step up and do a little extra in the union. Was there something that caused you to decide to, you know, pursue a leadership role?
SPEAKER_01Well, um in the station I worked at, which was the Linda Vista station in San Diego, uh somebody asked me why don't I um do I want to be a steward? And I guess it's because I have a big mouth and I um I just I speak up for people and I I I didn't let management bother me. You know, when I was um I mean I was pretty fortunate. I made regular, like in nine months, maybe. It's but I I um I worked really hard my first 90 days and then I worked hard while I was still a PTF because when you came back, invariably you got sent back out. My response was always thank you. And um so the station manager one day, because I got back later than he expected, he said, What took you so long? And I said, I decided to take lunch. And and so from then on, I was like, okay, you know, if you're not gonna appreciate me, then you know what? This is how I uh the the M41 was very um applicable. And I did that, and I said, you know what, management can't bother me if I follow that.
SPEAKER_00There you go. That is exactly right. And so um, you know, you started doing the steward work. Um, what else have you what all what else did you do during your career?
SPEAKER_01Well, let's see, then I got elected as a trustee for branch 70. Um, that was short-lived because then I moved to Texas and I've been a steward at a lot of different places. And then I also um did arbitrations. I was an arbitration advocate. I went to school. Um it was the George Meany Center when I went. It's somewhere else now. I think it's the maritime, anyways. Um, but I went there and we had a lot of people from Region 10 there. I met a lot, a lot of people, Veda Preston, Jeff Fultz, Mark Sims, um the uh a lot of future NBAs. I met a lot and a lot of future NALC leaders while I was there. And um then after that I went to DRP training and I did DRP for a long time, you know, which um is why I say God was leading me to that this job because I in high school almost every year in English, I had creative writing classes, and we had to write. Um we had to have like five creative writings every week, and that we turned it in on Fridays, and then I took creative writing when I was in college, so that was very helpful for my um the DRP working in the DRP. I really enjoyed that, and then I did that and being steward, that was kind of hard to juggle that. Once I got into DRP, I didn't do you weren't really allowed to do um arbitrations anymore. And then um then I retired and I was retired for a little bit, but I was still working in the national business agent's office after retiring. And then I was asked to if I wanted to run for the director of retirees position for the Texas State Association of Letter Carriers, and I've been doing that since 2013, and occasionally helping in the national business agent's office and um just trying to uh help letter carriers in any way I can.
SPEAKER_00All right, yeah, that's that's quite a career right there. Um, well, you know, you I know that you're retired from the postal service, but you're obviously very active in the Texas State Association holding your director of retirees position. If you don't mind, like what do you do in that position?
SPEAKER_01Well, um, actually before I became retired, I was also the treasurer for the Texas State Association of Letter Carriers for um I think six years. I don't remember how many years it was, but I promised my husband when um he retired that I would not run again. So, and and my husband is someone very special to me. He is retired national business agent for Region 10, which is Texas and New Mexico, Gene Goodwin. So if the name Goodwin sounded familiar to someone, that is why. But um, as the director of retirees, I um I conduct the NALC retirement seminars, which is very involved. And I suggest anybody who can who is thinking of retiring in the next five to eight years attend a retirement seminar. And there's going to be a retirement seminar September 27th in uh the Dallas area. If anyone wants to go, it's very important. I agree. And then um I just I help people if they have questions, they're just welcome to call me. But I mean, I've been doing retirement seminars ever since the NALC put out the retirement seminar. I mean, it's it's just really good.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, and our uh Missouri State uh Association director of retirees, Kevin Holmes. It is such a nice um it's nice to have that because I'll have members call me and ask me questions about retirement, and I'm like, I don't know. And then it's like, wait a second, but I know who I can send you to. And so that that position is extremely important uh because you know, I I think retirement, even I have about eight or nine years left, but even the thought of it kind of is scary. So you really need that person that can uh you know walk you through it and assure you, you know, this is what you got to do, and it just makes a world of difference. And you know, it I I've watched him, I've been to a couple of his seminars, and you know, it's really nice to watch it, and he answers all the questions. You guys obviously you care because you wouldn't do the position if you didn't, and and it is so nice. So thank you for that.
SPEAKER_01Um thank you, thank you, Craig.
SPEAKER_00Uh kind of a these questions I I feel like are a little rougher, but at the same time, I think it's very important to get the get get that out to let people know what sometimes people have had to deal with along their way. Um have you had any experiences with being, you know, with harassment, discrimination, anything like that? And if so, uh, how did you deal with it? And do you feel you were able to get it resolved?
SPEAKER_01Now, are you talking at the post office? Are you talking okay, at the post office? Okay, easy peasy. Well, um, I was a single mom for a while, which was not an easy thing because back then in the 80s, being a single mom of every Saturday, you were hunting down a babysitter. And um, and since I did not run, I uh was not liked by management, and I um I tended to bid on routes that were long because I could handle management, and my goal was to work to get the routes cut. And so I was on a business route. I was this is when I was working in the Mara Mesa station in um San Diego. That was when we had four four zones there. We had four zip codes in that gigantic building, and I had a business route, and they changed my starting time to 5 a.m. Thinking that would cause me to uh bit off. But obviously they didn't know me, and I um talked to my babysitter. Her husband was a truck driver for the Vaughn supermarket, so sh he got up and drove her early anyway. She was up, she says, eh, not a problem, just bring her the kids on, you know, and so that's that's what I did. I I just management likes to harass people and they like to push people and that makes people unsafe, it makes injuries, it makes you stressed out. And I mean, I I just I didn't let it bother me. I guess growing up with um a strict family, and my dad was a former Marine who was in Korea, that that made me pretty strong. Yeah, I mean, I I learned how to change the oil in my car, I learned how to uh change my own tires, I learned how to change spark plugs, I learned a lot of stuff. Yeah. And that doesn't even count the building stuff I learned how to do. But anyways, um, and and it was really funny because when I when I first went to that station, um I bid on a route and or I was there and I went to introduce myself to them management, and I I came in and and I introduced myself. I said, Hi, this is my name, Elizabeth, blah blah blah. And and so I was I said, Okay, and then I was walking out and they go, Oh, okay, can we call you Liz? And I kept walking, and I said, Not if you want me to answer. So I I think they were like, Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_00They knew they had trouble on their hands, and then then they're ready to go.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and and so I mean, I and even in Mira Mesa, of course, uh there were um four zones there, and then I was a tier in Tierra Santa for a while, and um I um I was a steward there too with um some other people. We I mean, and then they moved us around because they just it routes were getting longer and and um everything. But then and then I I would be harassed by management when I was working in the spring post office because I'm not a runner. They would come and say, Oh, we're gonna walk with you today. I'm like, okay, you know, okay, I'm not worried. I got a business, I got part business, part apartments, part mounted. And um so I'm doing my business, I go to the back, I get my mail out and I secure my vehicle. I mean, I'm gonna be out of sight of the vehicle. And in my opinion, even walking from the curb to the front door to deliver a package, you're not gonna be able to get back to that vehicle fast enough to protect the mail in there. So I lock it every single time I walk away from that vehicle. It doesn't matter where I'm going. And so I walk inside, deliver the mail. I come back. I went to um fill up at the place that I fill up at, and then I took lunch. And you know, I was like, you know what? I don't have to tell you anything. You are just observing me. You know, on my mounted when and when I got to every stop, I put my vehicle in neutral. I I'm just saying, uh the M41 is your friend.
SPEAKER_00Yes, ma'am.
SPEAKER_01Wait, and so um, and then because I bid on this route and it it's an overburdened route. And so after that, then the next thing they did to harass me, they um called me into the office. And at that time, um, the steward was a little more friendly with management, but it's it's not that big of a deal because I I didn't it didn't bother me at all. They called me the 204B called me into the office, and the steward was sitting on the other desk in the office, and and she said to me, she said, um, this is going to be a predisciplinary interview. And I said, Okay, cool. I said, Do you have any paper I can use to take notes? Which A took the wind out of her sails and also took away her power because I'm asking for something. And so I I she gave me a Form 13. I started writing it down, and then she said, you know, you went um over like uh three and a half or four hours, I forget how long it was. And I go, Oh, okay. I said, Did I uh put in a 3996? And she goes, You did. And I said, Okay, well, how much time did I ask for? And she says, Well, you asked for six and a half hours. I said, I did good then, didn't I? You know, and and and she just she was like, I mean, she was she was kind of speechless because she she thought she was gonna get me ruffled. And I'm not gonna get ruffled because I don't I don't mess around out there. I don't, I don't, I just don't do it. I do my job and I'm professional. I smile and you know that management can't handle it if you keep smiling. They just can't handle it. But I mean I just had fun with management. I didn't I didn't um I didn't let them get to me. It just it was it's not worth it. No, it wasn't worth it.
SPEAKER_00No, it didn't work.
SPEAKER_01Thankfully, by that yeah, oh yeah, they they do try and and they try and they know who they can pick on and and they know who's not gonna um do well. And oh, and then one time in Sugarland, um, I knew a lot of stuff about the post office because I'd been around for a little while by that time. So I'd one of the supervisors say to me, Well, you should put in your paperwork to be a supervisor. And I go, Nope, I can't treat people like that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So I'm just saying is the one thing I guess I would suggest to anyone who is an active letter carrier, male or female, is to not let management dictate your mood. Okay. If they call you in the office because you went over or you came back late or whatever, you know, just smile and you know, my favorite thing is asking for paper to take notes because it it they they're not used to that. They're not used to that.
SPEAKER_00Throws them off right off the bat.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah. I mean, I and and I I had management pick on me and and try to call me names, but I mean, I just I mean, I I when I got hired in 82, I had a baby in 1983, and then I had a baby in 1984. And so they started calling me the rabbit. Which, you know, and it didn't bother me. It didn't bother me, but I in 1983, when I oh yeah, that's right. When I when someone asked me if I was pregnant, I guess I was getting a little poofy, and so um I said, yeah, I I mean, I think I just found out I was pregnant. It wasn't 15 minutes, they had me in the manager's office signing a form, and this is before I became a steward, mind you, signing a form that says if anything happened, the post office wasn't responsible.
unknownWow.
SPEAKER_01And but that was I didn't know. So I I pretty much started the maternity policy in San Diego, having a baby in 82, 83, and a baby in 84, because they didn't know. I was working full duty, I was carrying mail, I was uh walking, I was walk walking up and down hills, and so but you know what? In 1983, the first baby I had at the post office, that was the easiest delivery I ever had. Really? Well, that's yeah, no anesthesia no anesthetic. Oh wow, labor was really easy. I mean, it was just the easiest. And then um in 19 and I worked full duty up until two weeks before she was born.
unknownWow.
SPEAKER_01Because there was not really a maternity policy in uh San Diego. But it I mean, everyone after that, like after my 1984 baby, after that, anybody who got pregnant, they were put on light duty immediately.
SPEAKER_00Oh wow.
SPEAKER_01And I didn't care because I didn't care because my um I would tell people when they say they got pregnant, I said, okay, you know what? You need to walk as much as you can.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I I've always heard that's good, but I'm I I would never tell a lady to do that because I'm not I'm not catching that smoke.
SPEAKER_01But well, but you're you're also not pregnant.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. I would say that uh and I I I'm I'm going to speak for men in general, and I'm using myself as an example. Um if the population depended on me giving birth to children, we would be extinct by now because there's no way I would go through what you ladies do when you go through childbirth and everything. Oh I I I don't like getting like a hangnail. So I'm this is uh it's wild to me what what ladies are willing to do. Uh it's it's amazing. So yeah, I it's it's wild. But um another question I have for you, um, because you have done so much, and you know, uh whether it's steward time or all of your arbitrations that you've done, um, all of that stuff takes time away from your family and your friends. Has that ever caused you any issues as far as with family and friends with the time you're having to give to the NALC?
SPEAKER_01Um yes. Yes. Um, it has a little bit. Okay, uh Okay. Um well I mean as a single mom, it was it was difficult. I I was very thankful that um I had a babysitter who was flexible, you know, because I mean I I started working before V time and then we got V time and I was like oh okay but um so it it was it was difficult mostly because I had to hustle up a babysitter on Saturdays, you know, and then working the six days after our long weekend, oh my gosh, it was so hard, you know, and the fact that their their dad didn't pay child support, that wasn't um so nice either. But um no, no, and you know, I I was thankful that I had a nice church family and they were they were so sweet. One day they popped over and they brought us um bags of groceries, and I was unpacking them or looking at the bags and I saw potato chips in there and I was like, oh my gosh. I mean, it going to especially when the kids were little, you know, I would have to have one cart just for the diapers and another cart for food. But um I I it was hard going to the grocery store because I had to have two piles, the have to have pile and the want-to-have pile. And if I got to the end of the have to have pile and I still had money left I could spend, then I started deciding from the want-to-have pile what I wanted to put in there. And there were times when the have to have pile I had to put stuff back, that's just the way it was. You know, I mean, but it it it's that's that that was the hard part, you know, because I I wasn't gonna burden my parents babysit asking them to babysit every Saturday. That just I was wasn't doing that. But I mean, and my life just revolved around going to work and taking care of my three kids in less than three years.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we had I have I have four years between my two. So like there was a little bit of a downtime as far as having a baby before we had our second. So I can't imagine having them all at the same time, basically. That is that's a that's a job right there in itself, not to mention actually going to work and working. That just taking care of kids like that. Um that's a full-time job in itself. So that's that is that's a lot. That is a lot. Um well uh you know, I I it doesn't sound like you have a lot of downtime. Uh you you're a very busy lady. I I know because we've we were able to sneak this this in. If it wasn't happening tonight, it may have been months before we'd have got this in. But so I know you're very busy, but if you do have a little time where you can kind of step away, you know, you're not on, you know, you're not on doing any w union work or whatever, what do you like to do to, you know, unwind or relax? Do you have hobbies?
SPEAKER_01Um I I have a garden. I have not weeded it recently, and so um it's not a lovely garden, but um it's it's really hot now, so it's really hard to get out there and weed. I do have a horse, and um my horse and I actually we belong to a group called East Texas Mounted Search and Rescue. And um we were on a call out in um I think it was 2017, and um there was someone who had been lost since Friday, and we came on Sunday, and they the we don't come unless the um sheriffs or law enforcement officers um contact us. But so in less than an hour we found Frank. His name is Frank, and um and he was alive. They thought it was gonna be recovery, but he was alive. And um then we we we were in groups of four, so the four of us just waited. They had an ambulance come, but because I live in such a rural area, I live on a dirt road that um has no cell service, the only way for TV is satellite. Uh our internet used to be satellite, which is poopy, and so we actually have a landline and uh which is very horrible. So don't ever get wind stream phone service. But um, whenever it rains, it either gets all static y or whatever. But, anyways, we found him, we waited, um, we let our horses experience uh hearing a helicopter land and feeling a helicopter land because you know when they land, the ground gets all jittery. And um, and so we uh we found him and we got credit for him, and then someone saw it on a Facebook post, and I was selected to be uh NAL and NALC hero because I was actually the person who found Frank in the woods.
SPEAKER_00That is awesome. That is such a cool story.
SPEAKER_01Yes, I but I mean I like to do that. I I do play some word games. I I really try to keep my brain engaged because I mean the phrase use it or lose it is way more um factual than people know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. Well, that's awesome. I that thank you for sharing that story. That is really cool. I that is that's that is just amazing, honestly. I've I've heard of this search and rescue and I've heard of the mounted search and rescue, but I've never actually talked to someone that does it. So that's that's so cool. Um another question I have for you is uh, you know, kind of the purpose of this is to talk to ladies that have kind of put some time in, uh have seen a lot of things, which you fit both of those roles. Um and I would like to ask you if you have a piece of advice for someone that might just be kind of starting their journey, maybe thinking about you know, looking into stepping into a role in the NALC. What would you tell that person?
SPEAKER_01Well, um the first thing that I would tell anyone that is interested in becoming more active in the NALC, either locally or regionally, or any, is there's a lot of time involved. As an arbitration advocate, I spent a lot of time reading the case, contacting the grievant. Um and mind you, this was before computers were really big. I mean, and and we had dial-up internet. So uh, but it there's a lot of time involved. I know when I first got um I was first running for treasurer for the Texas State Association of Letter Carriers. I went to a union meeting to announce my candidacy candidacy and and talk to people. And I had um a gentleman who asked me a couple questions. I believe he was the treasurer for that branch. And he said, Well, do you know how to do the 990 and the LM and and all this? And I said, Well, I really don't, but I'm I'm easy to learn and eager to learn. And so I feel very confident in that respect. And then he asked me another question that couldn't have been a better question. He said, Well, how much does it pay being the the treasurer for the state? And I said, you know, I have no idea. And anyone who's getting involved with the union in any way for the NALC, if they're doing it for the money, they should just not do it at all. Because that that's the wrong motivation. The motivation you need to have is uh to want to help your fellow carriers, being patient with your fellow carriers because they're gonna become frustrated and and they're gonna need someone to to help them not be frustrated because management they can't help themselves. They're just jerks. And but I mean if if you uh if you're gonna be involved, it's gonna take a lot of time, and uh you just need to make sure that you have support from your family because it will take you away from your family.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yep. Um, well, that was I mean, you're exactly right. Uh I was talking to someone the other day about that very thing about money and everything, and you know, we're supposed to be good stewards of our membership's money, and you know, and like you said, if you're in it for a paycheck, then you you are not who I want to be my steward or my president or anything because you're not in it for the right reason. Um, my questions are done, so I'm gonna just throw it back to you, ask you is there anything that I missed, anything that you want to add? The the floor is yours.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I you know, I thought of something earlier. I should have written it down. And um, I don't know. I I loved my job as a mailman. I loved having a walking route. I and you know, I had very good customers when I was pregnant that I knew who I could knock on the door and ask to use the bathroom. Of course, it was really funny once I was delivering in San Diego and I knocked on the door and I asked if I could use the bathroom because I was all done delivering the mail and my and my satchel was empty. And the wife turned to her husband and said, uh, the the mail lady wants to know if we if she can use the bathroom. And he goes, Yeah, let her in, you know, because I'm I'm I'm pretty pregnant. And it was really funny because when I got pregnant, they didn't make any uniform shirts that were had the eagle on it, because the at that time the patch was on the chest. No, the patch was on the shoulder. And so I told them that I would wear blue maternity shirts and then wear the cap that I wore for my first 90 days. So I mean uh luckily I had culottes on that were adjustable, but um I I loved being a mailman, I I loved my customers because I know it's not my route, but I service them so they're my customers.
SPEAKER_00Yes, ma'am.
SPEAKER_01And I I always took time to smile at my customers and and visit with them when I could. And I know it's even harder to get close to your customers now, especially when you have the the NBU boxes, the neighborhood boxes that that take away from delivering door-to-door. Of course, there is a safety issue. I've I've I've experienced um um uh people that come to the door when you're delivering the mail, and this man only was having a newspaper in front of a certain part of his body. And he said, Well, you could hand me the mail, and I go, No, that's okay. I'll just put it in the mailbox.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So I I did run into a few things like that during my career.
SPEAKER_00It's but that is crazy. That uh and that's the sad part is that's not an isolated event. We've had that in our own branch. We had we had we were dealing with that uh a couple months ago with uh one of our carriers in in my office. And so yeah, that's it's wild to me. I have one last question for you. When you started back in 1982, what vehicle were what what kind of vehicles were you driving at that point?
SPEAKER_01Um, well, I was driving a Jeep for the longest time. And um, and then when I started going out to Mira Mesa, then they weren't they were I guess the LLVs were coming out and I never really I never even got trained on one of those.
SPEAKER_00Oh wow.
SPEAKER_01So so when I got to Mira Mesa, they had to train me on that because I I didn't I mean I it wasn't on my in my forms of vehicles that I learned how to drive. And so but I I was very proficient at driving a Jeep. Oh, and something something really funny is when I went to um Miramesa in 1984, I um we had a gas pump in our parking lot.
SPEAKER_00We did too. Yeah when I started.
SPEAKER_01Yes. We um if our vehicle, thankfully, you know, there there was someone that did the gas. I was not a PTF anymore, so I did not have to do that. But you would put your vehicle keys in a can and it it would get filled up, a PTF would fill it. So that was interesting. What and the other thing is when I um when I was delivering um the mail, I would um have my arrow keys on um I would have a little a leather thing with a clip on it, and and it would hold my arrow keys and I would put my vehicle keys, jeep keys, LLV keys, whatever, on there. And I called that my dog warning device because when you're walking, your keys jingle and it makes all the dogs bark. Yes, so I I um everyone laughed at me, but I I think if you stop and think about it, that it it was pretty good. I learned where a lot of dogs were.
SPEAKER_00Yes, ma'am. Well, there I know I went off script on that question for you, but the reason there's a reason for asking you this. Um today I I I've been driving one of the Mercedes Metris for a while on my route. Um, they took my LOV from me, and I was mad about it because I didn't want I wanted to stay in my LOV the rest of my career. Uh they took it, they scrapped pretty much all of our LOVs, and we were we're our our well, our whole office is either Metris or uh ProMasters. Well, today they changed me out of that Metress, and I am in one of these NGDVs, the the new ones, the kind of the duckbill kooky looking trucks, and it is as close to an LLV as I'm gonna get, other than the fact that it's like nine and a half feet tall and over 20 feet long. It's a it but they were asking me what I thought about it, and I I had some other carriers asking me, and uh I was like, I love it because it reminds me of uh just a big LLV, and that's what I came up on. I I did drive a Jeep a few times when I first started, I started in '96, but they were phasing those out when I when I started. Um and so I've had LLVs my whole career, and I was telling one of the carriers, I said, I'll tell you right now, when I started in 1996, and I have a feeling you probably well, you never got air conditioning in your vehicles, but uh if if you would have told me when I started that you know, 30 years from now, you'll be driving a vehicle with air conditioning, I would have bet my house that you were crazy. And it it's just wild the evolution of uh vehicles and everything. That's what that and so that's kind of why I asked you that question. I didn't mean to throw you off on that, but uh I just uh and and then your stories have just been amazing. I I've enjoyed listening to them. Um everything you said is just it's it's just been really uh I it's taken me down, even for me, kind of a trip down memory lane because it's you were talking about a lot of stuff that I remember when I first started and a lot of the the uh senior carriers in the office, what they had dealt with when I came in and some of the stories they said. So um I just I I want to thank you so much for uh jumping on here with me and sharing your story and sharing just all the all the things that you've talked about have just been amazing and I I've really, really enjoyed it. Um I I know like I said, you're a very busy lady, and I I know that I'm taking time away from you, and uh I just can't thank you enough. And even though you stood up and I saw that cub shirt, now I'm gonna let that one slide. Um I'm not even gonna even pay attention to that. And we've already talked about it, but no, I I'd like I said, I just want to thank you so much. I I've enjoyed talking to you beforehand. I've enjoyed this. Uh just your stories are just awesome. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_01Well, thank you, Craig. I I appreciate that. And I actually was in Chicago in 2016 when the Chicago Cubs were playing the Cleveland Indians uh for the World Series. It it was it was a hard, it was a hard Friday night. It was a hard Saturday night, uh, but Sunday night was good. And I was there. My brother, uh my my late brother Harry and his two boys, Jordan and Spencer, got to go to the game. I mean, my my um my limit was a lot lower than their limit for the price of the tickets. Yeah, but it it's okay because I was at the cubby bear. I was the only lady there with purple hair. I got um I've been purple since 2016.
SPEAKER_00Nice.
SPEAKER_01But but um I got pictures with the mounted police ladies, and um afterwards a local TV guy from interviewed me. That was pretty exciting. So I I am I've been a cubby fan my entire life and a Bears fan my entire life. And I in 1985, when I was delivering mail in my route, when the Bears went to the Super Bowl, I made um two signs that I taped on my Jeep that said, go Bears.
SPEAKER_00That's awesome. Well, once again, thank you so much for joining me. That I like I said, I've enjoyed your story so much. I I just can't thank you enough. Um, and I just want to thank everybody else for listening to my podcast. Uh be safe.