Poor Old Doc

When I worked in the time keeping – Date Collection site of the Post Office I worked with an polite elderly gent by the nickname of Doc.

Doc didn’t have to, but he wore a coat and a bow tie every day. That was his style. He believed one should be presentable in the work place.

His dressing well and courtly ways paid off. Upper management liked his style and promoted him to supervisor. We all smirked, because Old Doc didn’t know beans about the operation or the details of time keeping.

Luckily, he was well liked, so his job got done because nobody wanted him to look bad.

After being a supervisor for a while he retired. I forgot how long he was a supervisor. I would think he probably tried to be one for at three years. When one retires the retirement is figured on your highest rate of pay, and average for three years.

After he was retired a short time Doc came by to see us, patting us on the back and smiling like he always did. He said he needed a little favor. He said his wife was now legally blind and he just could not make ends meet. He needed to borrow some about ten thousand dollars from the Atlanta Postal Credit Union and needed some co-signers.

Several people stepped right up and co-signed for the loan. My old friend Will (mentioned earlier) co-signed and tried to get me to sign. I told him that the credit union made a success of themselves by deciding who needed a co-signer and who didn’t. They only told the bad risk people they needed co-signers.

Will said the credit union didn’t know all the circumstances, some things you just can’t put down on paper – there aren’t blanks that ask if your wife is blind or not. I still didn’t sign.

Finally Doc got enough co-signers and got his money.

A couple of months later Doc was arrested for holding up a bank. Of course Doc eventually was tried, convicted and went to prison. Everybody who co-signed on his loan had to pay their share to make the loan good, which the credit union recalled for everybody to fork over their share of the loan. I think it cost each person about $2000. Then, I felt like an ass-hole.