TWICE A HERO FOR SECOND TIME WITHIN 8 MONTHS, POSTMAN DELIVERS LIFE-SAVING SERVICE.Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer SUN VALLEY - To San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. postman Gerard Apusen, paramedics are heroes. Cops, too. And soldiers, heroes guaranteed. But Apusen doesn't see himself as the Hercules type - despite his second rescue, the latest this weekend of a Sun Valley senior injured and helpless in her home. ``A hero is a strong word,'' said Apusen, 35, of West Covina West Covina, city (1990 pop. 96,086), Los Angeles co., S Calif., in the San Gabriel valley; settled 1905, inc. 1923. Before World War II, West Covina was a small rural community where walnuts, wheat, and livestock were raised. , who goes by the name of Jerry. ``Hard to define. Anyone can be a hero - but not me.'' Not in his own eyes but the eyes of others, Apusen is a hero not once but twice. ``Second time around, it's a good thing, a very good thing,'' said Sun Valley Postmaster postmaster - The electronic mail contact and maintenance person at a site connected to the Internet or UUCPNET. Often, but not always, the same as the admin. The Internet standard for electronic mail (RFC 822) requires each machine to have a "postmaster" address; usually it is Jon Eshbach, a 37-year veteran of the service. ``To have it happen once was phenomenal, but twice with the same carrier is very long odds. ``Found by an angel.'' The latest rescue came Saturday when the 11-year U.S. Postal Service The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) processes and delivers mail to individuals and businesses within the United States. The service seeks to improve its performance through the development of efficient mail-handling systems and operates its own planning and engineering programs. employee was walking his route of 700 homes. A resident asked whether he'd seen Lillie Lathem, an 81-year-old neighbor especially fond of dogs. Nope, no Lillie. When he pressed his ear to her door, the barks of her Great Dane Great Dane, breed of very large, powerful working dog developed in Europe more than 400 years ago. It may stand as high as 36 in. (91.4 cm) at the shoulder and weigh up to 150 lb (68.1 kg). and German shepherd German shepherd, breed of large, muscular working dog perfected in Germany at the turn of the 20th cent. It stands about 25 in. (64 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 60 to 85 lb (27.2–38.5 kg). nearly drowned her pleas for help. Lathem, whose legs gave out in her living room, hadn't been able to move for more than a day. What the Philippines native didn't expect after dialing 911 was the brute force (programming) brute force - A primitive programming style in which the programmer relies on the computer's processing power instead of using his own intelligence to simplify the problem, often ignoring problems of scale and applying naive methods suited to small problems directly of the Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . . ``They busted the door open, they killed it,'' Apusen said. ``It was cool. I've only seen that on TV; it happened right in front of my face. ``I said, Oh, man, this is real.'' Lathem, whose pride was a bit shaken by her ordeal, is expected to walk out of Pacifica Hospital of the Valley today in hope of rejoining her dogs and cat. She declined to talk to reporters. But neighbors are calling Apusen the protector of Cayuga Avenue. ``He's a very nice guy,'' said Ruby McIntire, 78, who lives four houses down from Lathem, contacted Tuesday in Lathem's hospital room. ``I wouldn't want to know anyone nicer.'' Postal Service postal service, arrangements made by a government for the transmission of letters, packages, and periodicals, and for related services. Early courier systems for government use were organized in the Persian Empire under Cyrus, in the Roman Empire, and in medieval officials are preparing an award for Apusen, whose second rescue in eight months is considered unprecedented within the U.S. Postal Service. His first feat earned him $500 and a cake from Big Eagle, plus praise from the state Assembly and City Councilman Alex Padilla. Each year, about two dozen similar postal rescues are reported across the city, half of them in the San Fernando Valley, postal officials say. Carriers often act as a neighborhood's eyes and ears, especially to seniors. Last September, after delivering mail to elderly Mary Yamagata for four years, Apusen knew something was very wrong because her mail was piling up in her mailbox. Fearing the worst, he knocked on her door and shouted her name, only to hear moans. Peering through her window, he saw her collapsed and bleeding on the floor. She'd fallen, hit her head, and been too weak to get up. She'd lain there three days. Family members credit Apusen with saving Yamagata's life. But to the shy father of two young girls who commutes 40 miles to work each day and is never a minute late, it's all part of the job. Like instructing new mail carriers. Or teaching them to drive. Or like tending his roses. Or his gazebo gazebo Lookout in the form of a turret, cupola (small, lanternlike dome), or garden house set on a height to give an extensive view. Few late-18th- and 19th-century rustic gazebos survive, but 17th-century turrets built up in an angle of the garden wall are not uncommon. of orchids. Or feeding his many koi. Always watchful, Apusen has a keen sense of what's right, and what is out of place, in his world. He only harbors one nonhero's wish. ``What I want is, when I grow old, someone will save me,'' he said. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Postman Gerard Apusen has helped save two lives - most recently a Sun Valley woman who had fallen in her home - while in the process of delivering the mail. Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer |
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