It’s strange to have a marker for the beginning of my day like throwing a crowing rooster off the porch.

Growing up in a suburb of Atlanta, I never even entertained the idea that someday my life might include a detail like that.

Back then, I never thought I’d touch a rooster.

Things do change.

I was going to write a post about the Nigerian Pentecostal movement this morning after hearing a public radio report on it yesterday, but I couldn’t find the information I wanted so I’ll write about something else for now.

But I will mention that on this report I heard, they talked about the scale of the worship meetings…multiple football field size areas, all covered or enclosed.

They talked about a proposed “prayer center” that was going to be the size of Central Park.

Good grief, that’s impressive.

I can’t imagine something of that size.

I’ll find some information about what’s going on there and write about it later.

We go to Saluda tomorrow to begin delivering the mail out of a different office.

It’s a cost saving measure by the USPS.

Time will tell if that holds true.

It’s interesting to shake things up like that right before the holiday season.  We drive down to Saluda, and then do the same thing that we currently do up in Zirconia.

We unload the truck, sort the mail, case it to get everything ready to take to the street, and then drive around and open mailboxes all day.

That part of the routine won’t change….we’ll just do it from an office that’s in another town and on another truck line.

The logistical issues of this arrangement should be interesting.  It should be interesting when we get late packages…or get called back for some mis-cased letters…or have to return to the Saluda PO for any other issue that we can’t handle over the phone.

I think this move will save the Post Office some money somewhere…but it’s not going to be on the “driver side”.  It’s going to be expensive for us to handle these inconveniences.

It’s going to be a lot of driving.

So tonight’s the night we report to Saluda.

And then tomorrow, we have our first full day of delivering out of another office.

Wheeeeee.

But I’m a trooper…so I’ll go where they send me.

I heard some news out of the Philippines yesterday, too.

Stories about aid workers who went in carrying all their supplies on their backs, workers given the cell phone numbers of former Special Forces members who were there to get them out of a jam if the situation turned bad for them.

I heard stories about the logistical nightmare of serving the needs of a devastated group of people who are separated by ocean.

I hadn’t realized how many islands comprise the Philippines…it’s a good number.

( I just looked it up…it’s over 7,000.  I guess about 2,000 of the islands are inhabited.)

So…how do you get help to all these people?

I go to Saluda tonight to start delivering the mail out of a different office.

I get paid to do it.

When I finish, I come home to a family who loves me and to a house that’s usually dry and safe.

In the morning, I’ll throw the rooster off the porch if an owl hasn’t gotten to him first.

Poor me.

There’s always a new perspective that someplace like the Philippines provides.