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Postal clerk a real character

From the service counter at the post office, the former class clown has had years of fun greeting customers and goofing around with them. Now he's retiring.

By RAGHURAM VADAREVU
Published August 1, 2005

	[Times photo: Max Bittle]
	Michael Murphy, 62, smiles after waiting on customer Delores Decker on Thursday at the post office in Homosassa Springs. Murphy is retiring from the U.S. Postal Service after 40 years.

HOMOSASSA SPRINGS - If Michael Murphy had slept in one morning about 40 years ago, his life might have been drastically different.

He might have been an actor. Or maybe even a chef. He might never have moved to Florida, although he'd probably visit his parents in Citrus County every now and then. His four children and six grandchildren might not live a short drive from his home.

But on that morning 40 years ago, Murphy didn't sleep in. Instead, he left his home on Long Island, N.Y., and went to take a test to join the United States Postal Service. He was hired and, in the years since, has made a name for himself: not for delivering mail, but for bringing smiles to customers' faces.

From the service counter, he would greet them, joke and sometimes even flirt with them - the women, that is. Once, Murphy even dressed up as Elvis and serenaded customers with The King's songs.

"I have a lot of fun, and I goof around a lot," he said, a hint of understatement in his voice.

For the past 18 years, his antics have been on display at the Homosassa Springs Post Office. But Murphy, a one-time elementary school class clown whose easy grin is rimmed today by a frosty goatee, has decided to retire.

Today is his last day.

"It's been a pretty good ride," the 62-year-old said.

Born in Huntington, N.Y., a town on Long Island, Murphy was into performance from an early age. He said his teachers in elementary school would write "Mickey" - his nickname - "is a clown" on all his report cards. He recounts this with a bit of pride.

"I think I was a frustrated actor," Murphy said.

After high school, Murphy enlisted in the Air Force and served stateside in 1959 and 1960 and became an avionics electrician at Grumman Avionics. He worked the midnight to 8 a.m. shift.

At one time, Murphy wanted to become a chef. A self-professed steak and potatoes kind of guy, he had one problem: He wasn't comfortable in the kitchen. He eventually graduated from Suffolk Community College with an associate's degree in business administration and opened a deli with his wife, Liz.

One day in 1965, he stumbled upon an advertisement for a job at the small post office in Brookhaven, N.Y., and he took the test. At first, he would work his avionics job, go home and shower and then work part time sorting mail.

Murphy was then fired from his avionics job because, he said, management thought he had taken too many sick days. On cue, the day he was fired was the same day the post office offered him a full-time job. He took it, and his career at the service counter began.

"It was a quick transition," Murphy said.

One Thursday in May 1987, Murphy tried to back out of his driveway and couldn't. The tiny Long Island communities that he had grown up in were now larger, and the resulting traffic was just too much for him to take, he said.

"Let's go somewhere it's not crowded," he remembered telling his wife.

Beverly Hills in Citrus County, where they had two investment properties and where Murphy's parents were living, immediately came to mind.

That Friday, Murphy typed a letter to the postmaster in Homosassa Springs and asked about a job. The next Monday, the postmaster called Murphy and offered him a job. A week later, the Murphys had sold their home and moved to Florida.

Murphy took his place at the service counter and has dispensed his good humor ever since. One of his most memorable antics came in 1993 when the postal service unveiled the stamp honoring Elvis Presley.

Murphy's colleagues pooled some money and rented a replica of Elvis' white jumpsuit, circa 1970s Las Vegas, with an accompanying black wig.

"My fat body just about fit in it," Murphy recalled.

One of his three daughters, Georganne, made a tape with Elvis' songs, and it was played over the speakers in the post office. Some customers went home and brought back their cameras to take pictures with Murphy, he said. The Citrus County Chronicle featured him in a photo, too.

This year, Murphy decided that he would retire this summer. Since then, the retirement news has been making the rounds, from post office staff to regular customers. He said he has received nearly a dozen greeting cards and even a cake.

On Wednesday, Murphy received a call from a post office co-worker, Larry Ogle, a soldier in Afghanistan. Ogle had called to wish Murphy a happy retirement, he said. In honor of Ogle, Murphy wore Ogle's name tag pinned on his shirt pocket Thursday.

As much as Murphy jokes with others, these days it's his co-workers' turn. Murphy said they have been "busting my horns."

Murphy said he was a "little apprehensive" about spending so much time at home without any real plans to do anything. He might start cooking. He and his wife, a personal care attendant who is contemplating retirement in the next few years, might travel the country.

"Give me a good television and a nice recliner," he said, "and I'm happy."

--Raghuram Vadarevu can be reached at rvadarevu@sptimes.com or 352 564-3627.

[Last modified August 1, 2005, 00:58:09]