This postman rings up National Honours
Postal worker Richard Sloley.
Claude Mills, Staff Reporter
EXCEPT FOR a bad Hollywood movie every now and again, the postman doesn't often ring high on the list of important people. Mr. Sloley rankles a little at the brouhaha over his selfless act but nevertheless uses the opportunity as a platform to espouse his Christian beliefs and values. "I attend a Pentecostal church, and my pastor is a teacher, a preacher and a counsellor, and if anybody in dat church tief, 'im nah tek the word of God. "I come offa decent table, is six bwoy pickney my mother have, my father was a deacon, I cannot tief...the money did not belong to me," said the 51-year-old father of two who was born and raised in Burnt Savannah, St. Elizabeth. Mr. Sloley recalls the remarkable incidents of January 7, 1999 that led to his national honour. "I was working, and something said to me 'Richard, that last bag yu throw on top, go back and tek it down and give it a check', but at first, I never paid it no mind, but then the spirit bid me again to do something, and I called a co-worker and I cut the bag, and I saw the money. I handed the bag to my supervisor who took it to the Postmaster," he said. "The $3 million cash belonged to pensioners and couriers and so on and was sent mistakenly here. If a man had stolen that money, pressure woulda de pon him because yu caan tief poor people money and prosper," he said. He recognises that there are people who ridicule him for his open-faced honesty, given the fact that the postal service is not known for its lucrative pay packages. "If a man is against me, he is a fool. Some people don't love the move I made, but me a defend my soul..mi no know who dem a worship," he said. In the past the postal service has been rocked by scandals due to publicized thefts committed by quick-fingered workers. In addition, the institution has been an object of derision, and the butt of many jokes because of its inefficiencies. However, two weeks ago, Mr. Sloley gave local postal workers a reason to smile when he stepped up to the plate and accepted a badge of honour for meritorious service from Governor General Sir Howard Cooke at Kings House. "My co-workers look up to me and what I did, I did on behalf of all postal workers in Jamaica. There were times in Jamaica when a postal worker couldn't hold his head up because every other day, there was talk that a postman tief this or that. Now every postal worker in the service can hold up his or her head in pride...we are not thieves," he said, the note of dignity unmistakable in his voice. What matters too is that in the eyes of his wife of eight years, Lorna Hyacinth Lawson-Sloley, he's a hero. "My wife, Lorna, she proud of me yu see...she nuh stop talk about me," he said, chuckling with school-boyish glee. The couple live in the Retirement community in Montego Bay and attend the Holiness Born Again Apostolic Church in West Green. "God helped me, and I was able to acquire a piece of captured land, and I have an unfinished house, but with the grace of God, I will succeed," he said. Recently, there have been a flood of letters from his superiors at the post office, the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and Prime Minister PJ Patterson. Mr. Sloley is now back on the job, sorting mail at the Montego Bay #2 post office, and loving every minute of it. "I love my job, and I am proud of what I did...to have seen that much money and to have given it back makes me feel good inside, and nobody can buy that sort of self-respect and joy, no amount of money."
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