If you want to know what it’s like for someone to wish you dead, try writing a personal check with a line behind you at Giant. We live in a time when speed is paramount. It wasn’t always like that.
Forty years ago, when I moved here, I didn’t have a street address. I had a post office box and I had to pick up my mail. I thought it was so romantic, so Mayberry R.F.D. that I didn’t even mind the added chore. I had conversations with other human beings at the post office. The person behind the counter knew me by name and would offer advice on sending manuscripts.
“Your best bet is to send it like this, if you don’t need a signature. If you do need one, then…” And we would stand there debating the advantages and disadvantages for a couple of minutes, and more remarkably, the person waiting behind me didn’t look particularly impatient, let alone out and out annoyed.
Apparently, Furlong Postmaster Colleen McKenna and her team never got the memo about hustling people along with as little communication as possible. I like going to Furlong Post Office. I like buying stamps there because they ask me which ones I want and give me a chance to look at the display and decide. Hmmm. Should I go with the flags and be patriotic or the flowers? Or should I honor somebody who once did something great in the world? At Furlong P.O. they are efficient and get you in and out quickly, but they manage to put a little humanity into the exchange.
Colleen remembers the first day she started working for the post office: June 3, 1993. “I didn’t know I wanted to do this work then. My father had told me to get a city or federal job for the long-term security. My love for the public came much later in my career.”
Colleen grew up in Northeast Philadelphia. “I bought my first home in Bucks County because we wanted better schools for our kids. It took me a while to get used to the quiet here. Now you couldn’t pay me to leave.”
Before working at Furlong, Colleen started at the Philadelphia distribution center at 30th and Market where she had to learn every address for a certain zip code. “It was very stressful. I had been told that employees hired before me were required to memorize the addresses and zip codes for the entire city of Philadelphia!”
I asked about her average day. “My workday is full of surprises. I love to chat with my customers and go the extra mile. Since I’m in a smaller post office, I can give a lot of extra attention to customer service. Whether I’m selling stamps or finding a package. It’s very gratifying. And I love to take small children for a tour of the post office. They are fascinated by the mail!”
The only part of the job she finds frustrating is when she has no control. “If a package is stuck somewhere, there’s only so much I can do.”
Colleen considers the people who come in to be not just customers, but “personal friends” as well. “I have been at Furlong 10 years, and I have watched children grow up and others mourn the deaths of loved ones. I feel very close to the community here and I appreciate every single resident. People here are so kind and generous. I get fresh tomatoes every summer and lots of cookies at Christmas!”
Personally, I wonder about the future of the post office. I’m afraid there will come a day when there won’t be any actual people there to help you. Colleen tries to reassure me, “I think we will always be here, but the service is forever changing, and humans are becoming fewer and fewer. The generation of mailing bills in envelopes with stamps is definitely going away. I hate the term ‘snail mail!”
I want to know about her family. “I have a cat named Penelope that I adore! My daughter left her with me when she went off to college. Now she’s my best bud!”
We’ve all heard Thank God It’s Friday. How about TG4PO?
"It's a Living" is a weekly column showcasing residents who are making a living in an interesting way, or people who’ve reinvented their careers because they could no longer ignore the voice in the back of their heads telling them to start over, take a risk, chase a dream or set out on their own.
These are stories of bravery, persistence, resilience, and vision.
Join our readers whose generous donations are making it possible for you to read our news coverage. Help keep local journalism alive and our community strong. Donate today.
