When most of us think about a mailman, we think about somebody that travels their way through our neighborhoods in a vehicle or on foot and brings us letters from people we know and sometimes, from those that we don’t know. In reality, however, a mailman has become much more in recent years. After all, they are sometimes the eyes and ears of the neighborhood and although we may not know them on a one-on-one basis, they know us in ways that we may not realize. This can actually work in our favor, as we see in the following example.
The mailman in this story realizes that people are having a difficult time during this global crisis. Social distancing has become a big issue, especially if we are elderly or fall in a high risk category. For one elderly woman in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, the need to stay home was very important. Her neighbors kept a close eye on her but it wasn’t unusual to not see her for quite some time. Quite simply, the neighbors didn’t pick up on anything unusual but the mailman did. His name is Karl Herklotz and he had been delivering mail to the area for eight years. On one particular Monday, he saw something that was unusual.
When he went to deliver mail to the elderly woman’s home, her mailbox was full. It was unusual for her not to come and get her mail. Perhaps she was out of town but then again, she was an 80-year-old woman who rarely ever went out at all. He described her as a ‘very pleasant lady’ and he couldn’t stop thinking about what he saw that day.
He decided it was important to speak to a neighbor about what was taking place. After speaking to Katie Giancola, they decided that they would do a welfare check on the elderly woman. After calling the police, they found out that she had fallen on the floor and had been there for days. She had fallen down and broken her hip, so it was a miracle she lived that long. Fortunately, they were able to help her and we hope that things go well.
