Pause to thank the unsung workers

Thursday was the last day of delivery of the Times Colonist by the same man after eight years of stalwart work.

Unlike other newspaper deliverers, he has placed the paper carefully in my mailbox and so avoided having to use an elastic band and oftenunnecessary plastic bag that the other newspaper arrives in. The fact that my other newspaper has had many different individuals making the delivery over the years points to the infelicities of the job.

He has soldiered through the irritations of the delayed arrival of the bundles of papers at their drop-off site, and the trouble created by an incorrect count of the copies needed on his route. He has worked through heavy rain, ventured at times along icy and snow-covered pathways in the dark of night.

I know he will admit that when all goes well and the night is calm, silent and beautiful, the work has its undeniable pleasures.

The difficulty of taking breaks has become the back-breaking straw.

I think that it is a moment to be thankful for him and all of those workers like him who are out at night contributing to our comfort and convenience. The unsung? Well, let’s pause and sing them an anthem of thanksgiving. William Thompson Oak Bay