Ocasio said he’s worked for the United States Postal Service for eight years, the last three as a rural carrier on a route in the Moon Lake area. Ocasio said he covers 44 miles a day, making 650 stops along the way.
“You’ve got to keep on track because, you know, if you waste time, it’s going to be hard to do it,” Ocasio said. “But I make it everyday on time.”
Making the same rounds everyday means Ocasio has become familiar with more than the neighborhood’s streets.
“It’s amazing,” he said of his rural route. “We are keeping in touch with the people around the community. It feels like a family.”
Learning a community also means knowing when something is off. On Aug. 29, Ocasio was delivering mail on Loy Street when he noticed something strange.
“I saw smoke coming above the fence,” he said. “Normally, in that house, kids are around playing, and I don’t see no one.”
Ocasio said he asked a neighbor if the family was home, but he said he didn’t know. While the neighbor tried to get in touch with someone by phone, Ocasio said he entered the property’s front gate and found fire.