Special Responsibilities
At the post office, clearly visible on the wall in the Employees Only area behind the desk: a placard. On this, in deadly-serious bold, sans-serif lettering, the words “ADULT CPR,” with a cartoon how-to beneath. Beside the sign, a plastic lunchbox sorta container is also affixed to the wall. It reads, “CPR KIT”.

There is a lot more to the day of a postal worker than I thought.

I’m not belittling people working anywhere; I’m just saying I never worked anywhere with these things on the wall, and certainly not displayed right up front and center, as if it were a primary responsibility of the job. I’ve worked at a library, a hippie nursery school, a grocery store, a coffeeshop, a half-baked events planning firm, a restaurant, a radical women’s collective/magazine, a corporate bank, a "gift shop", a radio station, a small publication, a university, another coffeeshop, a career testing agency, a citywide volunteer organization and a classroom. I might have left some places out here, but nowhere do I recall such a sign placed so prominently in my place of employ.