The beauty of a mail route in the Blue Ridge Mountains

Happy Monday, DMV! It’s June 22.

Every now and then, one of my readers, Rich Newman, sends me lovely photos from Loudoun County — in the Blue Ridge Mountains past Dulles airport, near the Shenandoah River. He lives in his hometown, Round Hill, Virginia, and he’s a mailman, whose route takes him past incredible vistas that he shares with me.

Each time he writes to me, I have this urge to ask questions. As a rural carrier, how many steps does he get in each day?

“I don't get a whole ton of steps as a rural carrier as compared to a city carrier, but I do make up for it in delivering a LOT of packages, which often requires parking in their driveway and making the trip to the door or garage (wherever they're most likely to notice it when they get home),” he responded to me by email.

“For the record,” he added, “those boxy mail trucks that are so iconic don't have air conditioning, are 30+ years old, and are being held together with rivets and prayers.”

I called him last week to “meet” him.

Rich, 44, used to work in residential construction, specifically building “high-end custom stairs.” But at some point, the job made him unhappy, so he showed up late and missed days. “I got fired, deservedly so,” he said.

He picked up work driving for Uber Eats and realized he “actually enjoyed delivering things for a living.” But he wanted more stability than the gig work offered.

Around that time, the post office nearby in Purcellville had a career fair, so he signed up. He started his U.S. Postal Service job in November. His official title is “rural carrier assistant.” He works six days a week.

“I quite enjoy it,” he told me. “I like the people I work with. There are way worse ways to make a living than driving around six to seven hours a day listening to podcasts.”

He listens to a lot of history podcasts, he says, and lately, “The Worst of all Possible Worlds,” which he described as “uproariously funny.”

If he’s driving around alone most of the day, what does he mean when he says he likes his co-workers?

“In the mornings, we show up and scan in our packages, load up our trucks, there’s lot of banter during that time,” he said. “Then load up the truck, hit the road.”

And when the opportunity presents itself, he takes photos: “Mostly nature, good panoramic views. There’s plenty of those in the Blue Ridge Mountains.”

This one, he said, was a surprise. (Note that he whited out the address to protect privacy.)

“I was delivering mail to a cluster box out in Shenandoah Retreat, and while preparing to get back in my truck I heard what I thought was a hornet. I sit down in the driver seat and noticed this little guy chilling on a package. I was able to coax him out the door with no issue, but I of course had to snap a photo beforehand.”

📷 Click here to share your photos of life across the DMV.

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