This column is a sad one… our newspaper family has to say good bye to Fernando Rodriguez who passed away over the weekend. Long-time readers have enjoyed countless writings by Fernando as he covered happenings throughout our community.
If you are a two-wheel enthusiast, like me, you undoubtedly enjoyed his columns in the Democrat-Central “Why I Ride”. I often told him I only wish I had the stamina to take on some of those mammoth journeys.
When I first met Fernando, I had no idea what a valued part of the community he would become. To be totally honest, I didn’t think too much of that first meeting as my first impression was that we didn’t have much in common. That was such a bad first impression. Fernando, had a rare quality of allowing others to have a difference in opinion, respect that position and finding common ground. I certainly enjoyed his visits to the office where we often discussed a huge variety of topics.
Another thing I liked about him, was that I never heard him say anything negative about anyone. Fernando was a kind and caring man who I am proud to have known and call my friend. He will be deeply missed by me, our newspaper family and readers. Our condolences go out to his family!
Postal issues…
I have often said the Post Office is a dinosaur of its’ own making. Recently its extinction seems to be getting closer. We had a Rotary scholarship recipient return their paperwork via 1st class mail from Burnsville. It took seven days to make the 13-mile trip from Burnsville to Sutton. A second example… I mailed my check and registration form to the West Virginia Press Association Convention on July 18th a good two weeks before the event. A few days before the event, Stella from the WVPA office called me to see if I was going to attend. Obviously, she hadn’t received my registration form and money. I told her what she needed to know over the phone and paid with a credit card. On August 6th, Stella called me again to say the check finally made it to Charleston.
We constantly have complaints from readers about poor delivery. One even accused me of not mailing the papers on a regular basis. I assured him that we mailed both papers every Tuesday and Thursday, except for a hand full of holidays, without fail. I even told him I had receipts for the hundreds of dollars that I pay the post office every week to prove it. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to matter to this particular reader. I assured him that I was just as frustrated as he was.
I’m not sure what has happened, but even though I didn’t think that mail service could get much worse, it certainly seems like it has in the past several months.
