Goin' Postal: True Stories of a U.S. Postal Worker & The Creek: Where Stories of the Past Come Alive

by Rhoda D'Ettore

Goin' Postal tells the story of a real U.S. postal worker dealing with crazy situations that the public never sees. From human heads in the mail to alligators on the loose in the building, this book is sure to make you laugh. The second book in this combo, The Creek, tells stories set in the same location, but each story is set in a different time period. The last story depicts how the people and stories of the past are still alive today.

218 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2014

About the author

I come from a large family in the Philadelphia suburbs of New Jersey. I have always loved history, true crime, and biographies. Very rarely have I dabbled in fiction, unless it was James Patterson or Danielle Steel--- and of course, some "naughty" stuff as well.

I once did my family tree, and found the following:

My family had postal workers going back to 1820.

My great great uncle has an FBI file for "Violation of the Espionage Act" due to a bar fight during World War I over the state of the war.

Another great great something or other received a ticket for drunk driving of a horse and carriage.

Having already been a postal worker for 15 years (along with my mother, brother, grandfather, and uncle), I realized that in 200 years, my family truly has not advanced very far! I began writing the funny stories that postal workers deal with that the public never sees. My co-workers thought it so funny that I began passing it out to "non-postal" friends to see the reaction. I soon published it as an ebook, and now along with a second book, it is available in print.

I also have an ebook of erotica entitled "10 Shades of Blush: The Softer Side of Kink" which is the first book of a series dedicated to women's fantasies.

Reviews

[Flora D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting and well written book. Rhoda D'Ettore has the ability to keep me entertained, and educated, both at the same time. I really liked this book, especially this part {God! I know the world is coming to an end now. There is talk that they will give you ladies the vote in the U.S., as well. What Perhaps you should remember, for every man with great power and deportment, there is a woman who created him, and raised him to be that way. Just you keep that in mind. If a woman can raise a family, and create good men, then perhaps those good men should heed the advice of the same women.} I read this book in under a day because I had to know how it was all going to end. It really hit me how many people died and the people who went through stuff, even worse during piece of history. A lot of true stories in this book make us think deeply. I continue to be amazed at the things I learn about the history from reading this book. If you are interested in history, you should read this book.

[Betty Torres · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is "Two Books in One", and the two books are completely different. The flow is good, there are no grammatical errors, and the characters are vibrant. The two books are completely different from each other, as the first is a "true" and humours account of what it is like to be a US Postal Worker. The second book I read as a short story on Smashwords, but the author has continued the short story into a very well written and entertaining book. There were quite a few surprises that made me say, "Wow! Just WOW!", and I did not feel as though the descriptions or verbs were repetitive. For anyone into the historical fiction genre, this book is a must read.

[P.A. Rudders · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first decided to read this book out of curiosity of the cover and the two different titles listed there, probably not the best of reasons I know but what a little gem it turned out to be. Here you get two very different stories for the price of one, the first being a series of side splitting snapshots and anecdotes of the author’s time working in the US postal service, and in the second story, The Creek, the reader is treated to a delightful family and local history of stories from in and around a creek in New Jersey dating back to the American civil war to the present.

In Goin Postal, the author takes us through the trials and tribulations of being a temporary and then permanent worker in the postal service; it’s not so much a story in the conventional sense but more a collection of memories and hilarious anecdotes loosely linked via an amazing array of characters in the form of her fellow workers. Her colleagues are every bit as varied and funny as the anecdotes themselves, ranging from traumatised Vietnam war veterans, a mad forklift driver chasing the white devils, a big hearted bisexual supervisor, and a Russian history buff, not to mention Aunt Gertrude and a bigoted Nigerian. Despite the racial and cultural diversity reflecting the huge melting part of immigrants that made America the country it is today, for the most part they all get along as one giant though often somewhat dysfunctional family. The author’s time with the postal service starts with the time consuming FBI checks for her employment, but once passing them she finds herself immersed in a truly mad and chaotic workplace, filled with its very own sub cultures including betting on who will be the next person to go on a shooting spree, or ‘goin postal’ as it might be called, dodgy dvd and arms sales, and a host of other ‘have to be there’ to be believed scenarios. The characters and language are as colourful as you can imagine, reflecting the working class diversity and backgrounds of the postal workers. The day to day humdrum of the work is punctuated with numerous pranks and hilarity, not to mention the bizarre situations that arise from the many strange things people try to send through the post, a severed head being among them, but despite the seeming madness of the workplace, in the true tradition of the Pony Express, underpinning the chaos is the workers’ determination that the post will go out no matter what, even amid the security and horror of 9/11. The writing is sharp and witty, and in a style that perfectly complements of the comedy of what the author is describing, and for anyone who has worked in a menial shift environment will certainly be able to identify with much of the humour, and probably recognise similar characters from their own work places.

In The Creek the writing and subject matter takes a surprisingly more poignant direction; the reader initially encounters what at first impression comes across as a truly heart-warming and delightful tale of love and romance set against the backdrop of the civil war, only to have that perception completely turned its head. The reader is then transported through a succession of stories carrying on from the first, taking the reader through the depression of the 30s, prohibition, two world wars, and the civil rights struggle, to almost the present day, covering love and romance, murder, bigotry, the Black Panther movement, and even ghostly apparitions. Although the stories through the decades take very different turns, they retain the creek as a sort of anchor connecting them all, and eventually conclude in such a way as to tie them all together really well. As I’ve said, the writing and content in the Creek is somewhat different, but still retains an entertaining story telling style throughout. Goin Postal and the Creek might seem like an odd combination at first but they subtley complement one another; whereas as in the former in its portrayal of the incredible diversity the author has presented a snapshot of American society as a whole, so too in the latter, she has presented the reader with an entertaining portrayal of how America has evolved to what it is today.

[Tony Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

United States Postal Service worker (USPS). What a diverse & cultural group of men/woman with of course their own unique personality.

My Grandpa was 1, the fun times I had as a child going around his at the time huge route, no vehicles back then. And then there is the environmental issues they endure 6 days a week. As well as the mean dogs or disgruntled PPL on their mail route. I have lots of friends I played ball with that are postal workers. I’m at awe how great a shape they stay in.

The 1’s at the counter don’t always have excellent customer service skills.

The test they take is ridiculous, I have a MSW degree & working on 2 more I couldn’t pass it. Come on its Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), not rocket science. I really don’t envy them on restaurant coupon day.

That’s an idea how about a bicycle or skates/board, scooter, etc. I’m quite sure though the racial slurs or any type of sexual connotations would not be tolerated.

Cool book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written informative very serious & hilarious true-to-life book about postal workers. It was very easy to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. No grammar errors, repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios & a great set of unique characters. This could make a great movie or mini TV series. No doubt in my mind a very easy rating of 5 stars for this book.
Thank you for the free book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

[Jame Restau · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as part of Potluck review. Loved that I got two stories in one!! at first I wasn't sure about a book focused on the post office but it was great!!! Loved all the personalities and relatable characters. Just a fun read.
The Creek took me by surprise. I loved how it all wove together. Such a good story. I am looking forward to reading her other stories.

[Felipe Lerma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most books I can say fairly quickly say why I liked reading them. These two shorts, particularly the first, a memoir about working at the US post office, took me a little longer.

The postal short itself is like a collection of shorts or vignettes. The passage of each brought out a growing collection of eclectic characters that surprised and, initially, befuddled the narrator.

Reading each event's description and dialog exchange, all occurring at a huge mail processing center, I can recognize and enjoy the author's openness and acceptance of a wide variety of people new to her experience. Her empathy with such a culturally diverse group, and eventual comradely daily communion with them, let me enjoy moments where very different people not only got along, but, as the author says, became family.

What began as a story of apprehension and resentment, evolved to one of personal and social involvement and acceptance. Often with subtle and increasing humor.

One of my favorite moments was when the narrator tried tanning her legs with lotion and it sweated down her legs. And it didn't go unnoticed among her fellow workers (smiles).

Contrast that with this near the beginning observation by the author, "Jessica approached the Personnel Office, pulling on the heavy door which led to the tiny little room that had nothing in it but a glass window---the kind of bullet proof glass that you expect to see at a police department or bank."

With this, one gets an idea of the story's humanizing arc.

My only complaint is the story's blocky paragraph structure.

Dialog and description were too densely packed per paragraph, I believe. More space between the narrative beats would, I think, enhance the enjoyment of the dialog exchanges, interior reflections, and pinpoint descriptions of the inside of the processing plant.

The paragraph density continues in the second story, a sort of history of events by a creek.

Though the tone is much more stark and serious, I believe breaking the paragraphs up to air out the dialogs and descriptions would give me more space to fully feel the rush of war and love and tragedy.

Doing that would, I believe, help create a fully developed 5 star book of stories. I look forward to checking out other newer works by this author and see how they are presented and read.

[Jennifer Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goin' Postal is an interesting collection of creative-nonfiction short stories about the author’s life working for the United States Postal Service. The stories are hilarious, serious, scary, heartbreaking, and do a great job of depicting what life is like working anywhere with a tight knit group of people. I’ve only worked in four places in my life, and all of those places felt like this. We had our in-house squabbles, our deaths, our births, our disasters, our nights away from the job, and everything in-between. We both loved and hated each other, as most families do.

This collection does a great job at giving its reader a look into the day-to-day life inside the post office and an even greater look how human and flawed management and upper-management are even when they won’t admit it. For anyone who has worked a job where your boss has come to you with the most ludicrous request and all you can do is look at him or her with a “you can’t be serious” expression on your face, this collection is for you.

The Creek is another collection of creative-nonfiction novellas that is about the lives of the people who settled the land on the creek on which Ms. D’Ettore grew up. She has a beautiful imagination, and carves out a wonderful of tale of love, murder, betrayal, heartache, death, and determination that surround a number of families that lived on the land over time. Her female characters are always strong and self-sufficient, which always draws me to her work. Her take on the lives of these families, from a young woman and her father who farmed the land, to a widowed mother of five who lost everything and had to move to the creek to raise her children alone, to the soldier’s family who suffered much in their grief over his loss, are realistic and not glorified. We are a people ruled by our hearts and our emotions, and her characters always depict this, making them relatable and true.

[PelicanFreak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goin' Postal-

HILARIOUS. I've been up all night reading this book because I could not put it down. I cannot think of many other books that made me laugh out loud but this one did. Of course it also makes me appreciate those who work in certain settings, but mostly - it made me laugh. If you need a break from life, some cheering up, or just a fun read - get this!
This is also the third book by D'Ettore that I've read and been unable to put down; if you haven't read her: you should.

The Creek -
Another D'Ettore book finished in just a couple hours, another that I couldn't put down and another full of surprises. While I was correct in a couple of predictions, they were minor events. She continued to throw twists at every turn! I cannot say enough about this creek - it's not like anything else I've read. It was a fast read but far from light - it was rather intense overall and surprised me right up until the last pages.

Getting this pair in one purchase is a great deal - two amazing reads: one hilarious and one thought-provoking. I actually had grown bored with reading and taken a little break; after reading D'Ettore's books I'm excited about reading again. She makes me want to read more and find the next great thing that'll suck me in - though few can do it like she does.

[Kayla Howarth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goin’ Postal & The Creek. 2 Books in 1! 4.5 Stars.

Because this was two completely different books, I’m going to review them separately.

Goin’ Postal. 4 Stars.
This was a great, light read that often had me chuckling aloud. The unique writing style made me feel like I was with friends, drinking and sharing funny work anecdotes instead of reading an actual novel. I loved that about it, but it also meant that there was no real point to the story as a whole. It was very entertaining, but that’s about it.

The Creek: 5 Stars.
The Creek is a series of short stories tied together by location. They’re all set in a different era, and each one was as entertaining as the last.
When I started on the first story of Lieutenant Harkin, my initial thought was “Oh! A nice love story.” Didn’t take me long to realise that’s not what it was going to be. This was probably my favourite of all the stories.
At first I didn’t really see the significance or ties between each of the stories until I got to the last one, which would be my second favourite. It explains how each of the stories come about, and ties the ending together in a neat little bow.
Together these two books made for the great type of reading to pass the time, when you’re in need of a chuckle, or just want to escape for a little while.

[Angela Lockwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do like the fact that this author has put together two short books and given us, the reader value for money. On the face of it they are not related but after reading it you get a sense of being presented with a very American portrait. A very warm and insightful portrait by someone who loves her country and it’s diverse people. In Goin’ Postal she relates some of the stories (in part fictionalised to protect identities I’m sure) she experienced while working for the institution that is the US postal service. Not only do get a glimpse into the life of an everyday worker, but also how a postal worker experienced going through some turbulent historical times (The 9/11 attacks) This ties it nicely to The Creek which is the local history of a settlement on a creek from the civil war until the civil rights movement. The second book still has it comedy moments, but is over the whole more serious and a good example of exploring US history through the experiences of local ordinary people. Goin’ postal was my favourite of the two as it was just such a guilty pleasure of getting an insider view. I had no idea of the things that went on in the postal service. Both are a good, fast paced read.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read. When Jessica's aunt Gertrude gets here to try for a job at the U.S. Postal Service, Jessica's life is changed forever. The reader gets a behind the scenes look at the happenings at a post office. Yes, a lot of the crazy stories are here, but the reader also gets an in depth look at what actually occurs while you are waiting for your mail. I found the stories hilarious, sad and some that happen no matter where you work. Life is life after all and the author did a great job bringing the lives of these workers to the readers. The writer has a great style and the story flows easily and makes for a great read.