Most of us know if what we do is essential to someone.

We have a feeling, deep in our spirit, whether or not what we do matters…if what we do makes a difference in this world.

I just don’t want the government to decide for me.

I don’t want some bureaucrat, sitting in some office somewhere, who’s never done what I do, who’ll never do what I do, to decide that when everything shuts down for a while that I won’t be missed.

Unless…

Unless they tell me that I’m one of the “nonessential” ones…they send me home while they fight about who gets the money….or they fight about where the money goes when they get it…or they fight about something that doesn’t have anything to do with the money…unless…

Unless they send me home after making me feel like I don’t really matter in the big picture…and they don’t tell me when I can come back….but I hear on the news that when I do come back…

THEY’RE GOING TO PAY ME FOR ALL THE DAYS I MISSED!!!

Now, how cool is that?

Other than having your sense of self-worth destroyed for all time, you just got a vacation of undefined length…and the promise of getting paid when you finally do get to start participating in the governing of the USA again.

What’s the downside?

Don’t throw me in the briar patch.

Now, of course, I work for the Post Office.

People say, “Oh…you’re still open?”  like they’re surprised.

WE’RE NOT A PART OF THE GOVERNMENT!!!  BUY SOME MORE STAMPS IF YOU’RE WORRIED ABOUT KEEPING US AFLOAT.  JOHN BOEHNER DOESN’T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE FUTURE OF THE POST OFFICE.  HARRY REID DOESN’T WRITE MY CHECKS.

When they ask that question, I do have to wonder if some of these guys on my route don’t consider all of us at the Post Office nonessential.

Especially the ones getting all the bills.

People don’t like the bills.

I don’t want anyone putting me out to pasture…even if it’s for a short amount of time and they promise to pay me when they let me come back.

I can find the pasture on my own just fine.

That would be kind of different to have the kind of power where I could say, “You…yeah, you…trying to hide over there in the corner…yeah, you, that’s right…you….uh, huh…you.  You heard me…you.  Right.  I appreciate what you do…what’s your name?…yeah, you…good…anyway, we appreciate you… but in the big picture you don’t matter as much as me…who?…I said me.  Who am I?  I’m one of those guys…the other ones…essential.  Who decided that?!!l  Well…I did of course.  Me. Anyway…you’re in the nonessential group so you’re going to have to go for a while.  Don’t worry about the money…we’ll pay you when you get back.”

“Now, go on…don’t be sad…don’t cry.  You get to come back, after all.”

“I said not to be sad…you GET TO COME BACK TO WORK AFTER ALL THIS IS OVER!! YOU GET TO COME BACK TO YOUR NONESSENTIAL JOB THAT DOESN’T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD WHEN THIS IS ALL OVER.  YOU’LL SEE ME AGAIN…YOU’LL SEE…”

I thought I told you not to be sad.

That would be a new and unique experience for me to be able to say that.