"He feeds all the cats... They all know him, and they know that buggy!"
May 24, 2019 8:16 AM   Subscribe

On Wednesday, May 22 Floyd Martin delivered mail for the last time after 35 years at the United States Post Office. @Jennifer_Brett accompanied him and took photos of Floyd saying goodbye to the people on his route (SLT Thread).
posted by mcmile (22 comments total) 25 users marked this as a favorite
 
💌📬 📮
posted by Fizz at 8:27 AM on May 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


Awwww. I expected more cat pics from the description but somehow I'm not even disappointed. Bless this man.
posted by sunset in snow country at 8:32 AM on May 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


Well, I made it to about the 3rd or 4th picture (where the little girl dressed as him for Career Day) before the tears came. Man, I really needed this today, thanks for the post!
posted by TheFantasticNumberFour at 8:32 AM on May 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


This is so sweet. The USPS is truly one of the last vestiges of decency in US government. And here’s where I point out that Mefi’s own mwhybark once messaged me “Do you live [address]? I’m delivering your mail today!” He’s not our regular person but he is thoroughly decent and wears the uniform proudly and well. I wish I thought to get photos.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 8:33 AM on May 24, 2019 [20 favorites]


The neighbourhood block party pictures and video were lovely. I noticed that in every picture that had dogs and humans, the dogs are only looking at Mr. Floyd, no doubt expecting more treats!
posted by cynical pinnacle at 8:34 AM on May 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


Okay, humanity, I will consider my faith in you restored. For now. For now.
posted by slkinsey at 8:39 AM on May 24, 2019 [4 favorites]


Awwwwwwww... I really needed this today. This week. This month. This year...
posted by PhineasGage at 8:43 AM on May 24, 2019


Did you see how his dream was to visit Hawaii one day? They set up a GoFundMe for $5K and as of now it has nearly $12K in it!
posted by knownassociate at 8:49 AM on May 24, 2019 [8 favorites]


Could you link to that GoFundMe page, please? I found one, but it only has $5,597 pledged so far. I’d like to donate, but want to make sure there aren’t two different ones set up, in case one is fraudulent.

Thanks!
posted by darkstar at 8:59 AM on May 24, 2019


Ah! I just read the following note on the page set up by Laurie Gestal, with $5,597 raised:
“Hi world. I wanted to let you know that I am officially in touch with Mr. Floyd's neighbors! There are now two of these fundraising pages and we're looking to merge them or will close one down.

Either way, the funds will go to Mr. Floyd!”
So it looks like they are both legit, and at least $18k has been raised so far!

I’ll wait until they are combined and then donate. It’s great to see someone have this kind of an impact on their community and definitely should be rewarded.
posted by darkstar at 9:03 AM on May 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


Update:

The second GoFundMe, set up by Laurie Gestal, has been closed to new donations, having raised $5,857. Those funds are being sent to Floyd MartĂ­n, per this note:
“Hi Friends!

We are shutting down this donation page to focus on the campaign that Mr. Floyd's neighbors have set up. You can continue to follow the story here: https://www.gofundme.com/floyd039s-retirement-dream-hawaii. We will send all donations from this campaign directly to Mr. Floyd.

Thank you for your generous donations!”
The primary GoFundMe, set up by the neighbors Mr. Floyd served, has raised an additional $13,620. If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, here it is.
posted by darkstar at 9:36 AM on May 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


Ooh, an update on the main GoFundMe page:
“To say we are humbled by the generosity of others is a complete understatement. Our original goal was reached in less than 2 hours, and through social media, we have been contacted by celebrities, national news outlets, and Delta has generously offered Mr. Floyd airfare to Hawaii so the funds raised can be for the time on the island. Thank you so much for everything!”
So, free airfare to Hawaii plus $20k, and counting! Now that’s more like it!!
posted by darkstar at 9:42 AM on May 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


Thank you for this MeFi
posted by photoslob at 9:48 AM on May 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


I'm crying at work! Wow. If I could be a fourth as connected, caring and humble as this guy at the end of my career, l'd be blessed indeed. Enjoy Hawaii, Mr. Floyd.
posted by Freeze Peach at 9:51 AM on May 24, 2019 [3 favorites]


That's wonderful. All the cats will miss their fren.
posted by xingcat at 10:38 AM on May 24, 2019 [3 favorites]


For those interested in sharing the love with your own USPS postal carriers, I looked up the rules last Christmas, when I was planning to give a gift to my mail carrier. But there are strict limits:
Employee Tipping and Gift-Receiving Policy

All postal employees, including carriers, must comply with the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Exec­utive Branch. Under these federal regulations, carriers are permitted to accept a gift worth $20 or less from a customer per occasion, such as Christmas. However, cash and cash equivalents, such as checks or gift cards that can be exchanged for cash, must never be accepted in any amount. Furthermore, no employee may accept more than $50 worth of gifts from any one customer in any one calendar year period.
Mr. Martin will only be allowed to receive the GoFundMe proceeds because he is retiring, and therefore no longer subject to the limits. Though I have heard people say those rules were clearly meant to be broken, I wouldn’t want to jeopardize my mail carrier’s job...

Anyway, it used to be a bottle of nice liquor was the standard mail carrier Christmas gift. But unless you know the recipient would appreciate alcohol, it’s perhaps not the most sensitive gift, anymore. Safest bet: ask your mail carrier what they would like for Christmas (and make sure you hand it to them directly, so it’s not picked up by a seasonal temp).
posted by darkstar at 10:39 AM on May 24, 2019


This is a bright spot in my week. Thank you for sharing.
posted by Hermione Granger at 12:07 PM on May 24, 2019


This is wonderful! Just what I needed to see after a long week. Such kindness all the way around!
posted by bookmammal at 1:16 PM on May 24, 2019


This truly needs a FeelGoodFilter tag! Thanks for posting this, so wonderful and suddenly dusty.
posted by hippybear at 7:12 PM on May 24, 2019


This is so sweet and that go fund me link made me shout out loud! 26k is a very nice gift for a lovely man.
posted by RandomInconsistencies at 9:13 AM on May 25, 2019 [1 favorite]


Woot! It’s now at $28,495 on the primary plus $5857 from the secondary = $34k and counting, plus free airfare! This is awesome...that’s a cool retirement bonus of about a thousand bucks for each year he was their postal carrier. :)
posted by darkstar at 12:33 PM on May 25, 2019


Just following up with some notes on Floyd’s fundraiser before the thread is closed.

The GoFundMe has been finalized. They raised $32,822 in the second fundraiser. The first one, which will also be sent to Floyd, raised $5,857, for a total of $38,679.

Additionally, Delta Air Lines has offered a free round-trip ticket to Hawaii, and a tour company, Hawaiian Tours Now, has also graciously offered a free tour while he’s there.

Aloha, Floyd! Love wins again!
posted by darkstar at 9:08 PM on June 10, 2019


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