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Alan just stood there frozen. He was beaten down by the cold, the ice and the frosty wind. Exhaused and worn out, Alan just stood there - a human icicle beginning to thaw. And now his brain was frozen too - but not from the cold. Alan didn't know how to reply; he was so taken aback. Finally with what little energy he had left, he turned toward his boss. "Look," he said, "I'm sorry, but couldn't we just start with something that's possible - something that's been written down as having been done before. You know, something like walking on water or raising the dead. Then maybe we could try the impossible." "Alan, you know, you're expected to be back here at five o'clock," said the boss, shooting words like frozen daggers back at Alan. All the time, the boss was looking at Alan like a mother looking at a naughty two-year old. This is the U.S. Postal Service, a place where treating employees like children is common practice. Employees find it demeaning, of course. It is especially demeaning, thought Alan, when one is expected to do more work than can be done in a given amount of time. Alan looked at the solid black outside the windows. The clock behind the boss read 5:17 PM. As Alan starred at the clock, he realized that there was nothing to do but accept the inevitable. And as he stood there, Alan could feel his arm and shoulder aching. On top of everything else, Alan had slipped in the dark on black ice. And now the warmer he got, the more he ached. The boss motioned for the shop steward. "I need Alan and you in the office." And so it went - the first step in disciplining an employee. Next comes a suspension without pay, thought Alan. "Why did I ever take this job? It's ridiculous," Alan said to himself. And later as Alan's boss was handing him some verbal discipline, Alan's mind returned to the beginning. It seemed like a good idea at the time, thought Alan. They put Alan in the witness protection program. With so many people looking for him, he couldn't remain in the same line of work; he'd be too easy to find. So, among other choices, why not work for the postal service? You see postal workers all the time. The work doesn't look that hard. "As a letter carrier, you'd get plenty of fresh air, and exercise, and you'd get paid for it," they said. "Not exactly the pay I'm use to," Alan remembers replying. Alan had become accustomed to good pay. The idea of suddenly making a quarter of his old pay disturbed Alan. But Alan knew he'd never make this kind of money again. Sure, Alan could go back to school and earn another degree. But, even so, he'd need a job in the meantime - at least, until he got that degree. Alan thought through his options. Truth is, no one would expect Alan to be working as a letter carrier - certainly, not with his background. When Alan realized this, the decision was made. And, as the saying goes, the rest was history, thought Alan as he returned to the matter at hand. "You've been warned. You come back late again, and I will have no choice - more severe discipline will be forthcoming. Good day." With that, the boss was done - and so was Alan.

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