Safe in the Spotlight

S&K 1st Stop At 15th St and 42nd Ave., Gulfport, MS

S&K First Stop owners can be confident that their store is being looked out for. This morning as I was making notes in my car after delivering to the USA Today coin box a police car crept up on me--then suddenly shown the spotlight in my face.

I waved, he went on. We did not have any kind of interchange. Unless he had been watching slealthily as our local beat patrolmen often do--he could not have known I was the USA Today vendor. I felt positively profiled. Then again, he may be familiar with my pattern.

I feel well protected at night with the town police from Gulfport to Long Beach to Pass Christian to Bay Waveland to Diamondhead, plus the presence of Harrison and Hancock County Sheriff's Deputies. Its amazing that anyone actually thinks they can commit crime on my "beat" and get away with it.

This morning saw sunrise in the mid 30's. Gas was as low as $3.029 in Gulfport and as high as $3.189 in Bay-Waveland and Diamondhead.

What does USA Today and Craigslist Have in Common?

One irritating aspect of being a newspaper vendor is storing or handling the returns/overstock. Fortunately with USA Today we only have to keep papers for about a week. USA Today will message all vendors around Wednesday and let us know which day will be audited. Then, every day but the audited day can be disposed of. Actually, after clipping the header, even the audited day can be disposed of.

At first I started loading them in my car after audit and taking them to the animal shelter in Gulfport. THEN, I hurt my leg and was in considerable pain. The thought of loading and unloading that I did not absolutely HAVE to do was unbearable.

I impulsively placed an ad in Craigslist Community/Volunteer section--to the attention of Recyclers/Re-users. Since that day I have met some of the nicest people I would not have met otherwise. People who are committed to shelters maintaining fresh litter, or otherwise re-using the papers. 

I now have "regulars" to call when the audit is done and the papers are ready for their second life. 

If I did not have others to depend on--I would likely continue doing it myself. But, as long as I have volunteers--I have to admit that I am pretty tired of dealing with papers by the time after audit pick-up rolls around. God Bless the new re-cyclers/re-users who are helping out.

Black Friday 2012 at K-Mart, Waveland MS

I made it the K-Mart in Waveland for my USA Today delivery around 03:45 Black Friday. I was surprised to find this small gathering of cheerful folk waiting for K-Mart to open and the deals to begin. If you look between the guy in the blue jacket and the person in the gold jacket you can see a USA Today vending machine struggling for attention.

USA Today at Diamondhead Pharmacy

Click on this link to get the address and phone number for the Diamondhead Pharmacy in Diamondhead, Misssissippi. I have not been in this store as I deliver in the wee hours of the morning, usually 3AM to 4 AM. However, I love their window displays. If you visit Diamondhead,  I suggest going East between the Kangaroo and Burger King. Follow the road around a curve until you see the Pharmacy. Then, you will also see more shops nearby, cafes, and an urgent care medical center.

USA Today at Memorial Hospital in Gulfport

This USA Today machine is at Memorial Hospital. If you go into the parking garage, go in the first set of doors. Look to your left. This is before you reach the front desk. If you do not see it, just ask any of the friendly people on duty.

Memorial Hospital is located in South West Gulfport, MS on Broad Avenue. Broad Avenue is easily accessed from US Highway 90. Gulfport is one of the 4 Coastal Towns in Harrison County, MS. Harrison County is one of 3 Coastal Counties in Mississippi.

Other nearby locations with USA Today are: 

• SK First Stop at the intersection of 15th St and 42nd Ave in Gulfport
• BK Stop and Save just west of the intersection of RailRoad and Broad

Locations

USA Today has a huge presence in the Mississippi Gulf Coast. This Blog will only focus on the locations I am responsible for, in USA Today lingo: Route 44-410. 

• Locations: Route 44-410 currently has 51 locations in the general areas of: SW Gulfport, Long Beach and Pass Christian in Harrison County, and Bay St. Louis, Waveland, Diamondhead in Hancock County.
• Purpose:  I thought it might be interesting to see if we can get some dialog going among readers on my route. Of course that will include locals, and folks passing through the area.
• Ads and Messages: I have noticed that folks tend to use our USA Today boxes as a message board. Perhaps we will start our own online ad depot. We can see if it is helpful to post lost pet ads, repost jobs that I notice are posted on store fronts, that sort of thing.

More later...Time to deliver the route.