‘I jumped over the fence, and I turned around and saw it was an ostrich.’

Driving for a living is demanding, sometimes hazardous work. Lakeside resident Leonard Wilson, a United Parcel Service delivery driver, knows from experience. Wilson, 37, has had to contend with attack dogs and attack birds, wrong-way drivers and mastering new routes. Wilson began driving for UPS in Los Angeles in 1972. He sharpened his skills delivering in Compton, Watts, Bellflower and Long Beach before moving on to San Diego in 1979. He says he has delivered “all the way from the border to Lakeside to North County.” He was recently recognized with a safe - driving award for delivering in San Diego for 10 years without an accident. Wilson credits his perfect record to the “art of defensive driving.” He was interviewed by Times staff writer Terry Rather and photographed by Bob Grieser.

When I first came to San Diego, I had a really strange experience. I was in Chula Vista doing a guy’s route I had never done before. I went up to this gate, and I walked up to this big house up on a hill to deliver a package. I started beating on the door so the people would come and sign for the package. I could hear someone, but I couldn’t see anyone. Then, all of a sudden, up on this porch area, I could see these eyeballs looking at me from the left-hand side. I looked over there and thought, ‘Holy mackerel, what is it?’ So I turned slightly and looked over the porch, wondering if I could make it back out to my truck. I thought, “Well, here we go!” I took off to my truck and I could hear this “squawk! squawk!” chasing me with big feet. I was running as fast as I could. I jumped over the fence, and I turned around and saw it was an ostrich. They had an ostrich guarding their property! You’re used to dogs, and know how to deal with dogs. But I had no idea how to handle that. And they can move!

You try to avoid situations like that by making a little bit of noise when you first get there, like honk your horn or rattle the gate, and check the yard for goodies. You have to keep your eyes on things like that, especially if you’re running a different route day to day. But, if you’re running your own route, you know where the dogs are, what’s going on, when to carry the dog biscuits. The dogs know who you are after a while. Some of the dogs will stop you every day, then finally, day after day, they get to know. Then there are some dogs who don’t care who you are.

I start working 8:30 and go until I’m done. It’s great because every single day is different. You just don’t know what will happen. I like it because you’re out on your own. You’re the boss, you’re running your own little business out of your package car. Drivers do just about everything. Customer service, delivery, you name it, you do it. You have to make sure the packages are packed up properly. But it can be stressful every day because you have to get it done. Downtown can be really stressful because of closures. You have to get your route done. When it gets close to 5 o’clock, you better start wrapping those things quickly because people start leaving.

You name it, we deliver it. We deliver a lot of bicycles. We also deliver live lobsters and crabs, too. I remember delivering to one guy almost everything to build a car. Everything. I delivered bumpers, dashboard, tires, steering wheels, everything. I could have sworn he was going to drive out of the building with a car.

I think the awards is a good system. It gives you something to strive for, even though it’s an everyday, hard, challenging job, this is a little extra bonus to show that you are a professional driver. That’s what they keep telling us at work, that we’re professional drivers and you should foresee a lot of things. They’re right. You’re on the road all day, everyday, you’re aware of a lot of different things that normal people are not aware of because they don’t drive every day.

My kids and my fiance love my job. They think it’s great. Whenever the kids see a brown truck they say, “That’s just like dad’s!”