FIRST PERSON

fairly dry-eyed. When I battled depression several years ago, I won the battle with the help of a wonderful therapist — and no tears.

Many might hear this and say, “There's a stereotypical stoic man who keeps his emotions bottled up.”

What they haven't seen are my tears, say, every Christmas season as my wife and I sustain our tradition of watching "It’s a Wonderful Life."

I knew that my last day on the job also meant the last time I would likely see many of my canine friends, too: Rudy, Piper, Poppy, Louie D, Mr. Bugs and Rusty, Jake and Charlie, Caicos, Maverick, Henry, (Eleanor) Rigby and Penny (Lane), Kona, Abby and so on.

In my experience, dogs and mail carriers cannot only peacefully coexist; they can also be best pals.

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The Postal Service has long forbidden carriers from giving dogs treats, but after two skirmishes involving dogs earlier in my career, I relented. Call me a scofflaw, but the results amazed me.

That final day went pretty much the way I'd expected, with many too-short final conversations (I still had a job to do) followed by countless handshakes, hugs and one last treat for many of my “pets." And no tears. I had one final piece of mail (one requiring a signature) as I arrived at Annie's porch and rang the doorbell. When she opened the front door, her new Rottweiler puppy, is granted.

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A submission used becomes the property of The Dispatch; it cannot be reproduced elsewhere without our permission. Teddy, was there to greet me, too.

Annie’s previous Rottweiler, Bear, had been one of my pals — and I was deeply saddened when he passed away. My last day at work marked my official introduction to Teddy.

As I talked with Annie, Teddy stood on his hind legs with his front paws against my leg. Instinctively, I reached down and started scratching his ears, realizing at that moment that I wouldn't develop the relationship with Teddy that I'd had with Bear.

When Annie reached out to hug me goodbye, I saw her eyes well up — and it happened. No amount of blinking was going to help. Out came my tears, too.

I laughingly scolded Annie for making me cry, bent down and gave Teddy a little farewell hug, then walked back to my truck, wiping tears away the whole time.

I had made my final delivery.

In retirement, I've quickly come to realize what I most enjoy is having time to take walks.

Walking alone can be relaxing but, at times, a little boring, too. I wonder whether any of my old pals would like to take a stroll with me.

I’ll try not to cry.