"It's funny. I will see someone in the store from my route. I won't always remember the name, but if they give me an address, I can tell who they are," he said.

Daugherty said the skill even goes back in time.

"I can remember who lived at residences on my old routes from years ago," he said. "My mind is like a computer, but I think I am running out of memory."

Daugherty, who has been a Council Bluffs city carrier for 20 years, said most carriers don't just remember names and addresses. They usually get to know their customers. Often it's through years of personal contact; sometimes by the mail they leave in the box each day.

"The people contact is the part of my job I like best," said Daugherty. "You see little kids playing in the yard, and the next thing you know they are graduating from high school."

Daugherty used to have a walking route, delivering door-to-door to the same people for years. While his route today is a combination of business and residential deliveries, he still knows many of his customers.

"You get to know their routines and sense when something could be wrong," he said. "If a person usually picks up their mail every day and suddenly they don't, I check to make sure they are okay."

Daugherty said there have been instances where a carrier's actions have helped save a life.

"Maybe an older person fell and broke a hip or can't get up," he said.

Daugherty said with more people working outside the home, he sees fewer customers than when he first donned his postal uniform in 1986. But carriers learn something about those customers even if they never see them.

"I usually know when someone is having a birthday," Daugherty said.

While e-mails have replaced many personal letters, birthday cards are still a large postal service item.

Less customer contact isn't the only change Daugherty, 49, has experienced during his postal career. Going to an automated mail sorting system is one of the biggest differences. Daugherty said carriers used to sort each piece of mail by hand. He now gets several trays of mail everyday that are already sorted by address. Machines at the Omaha processing facility accomplish the feat.

Daugherty's is one of 51 Council Bluffs city routes. Nine rural carriers deliver outside the city limits.

He begins his day at 7:30 a.m. by preparing the mail he will deliver that day. While much it comes pre-sorted, Daugherty must still sort flats - larger envelopes, shopping supplements and magazines - and packages and get his accountables ready. He said those include postage due mail and certified and registered letters.

Then it's on to the loading dock, where he packs his delivery truck, positioning trays and packages in the opposite order from which he will deliver them.

"Some carriers write down their packages, but I try to remember them," Daugherty said.

He used to deliver in a postal jeep, but the office went to the larger LLVs (long-life vehicles) several years ago.

"At first I resisted that change. I didn't want one," he said. "Now I don't think I could fit all my mail into a jeep."

Perhaps surprisingly, Daugherty said his mail volume is increasing.

"I actually think the Internet has created more mail for us," he said.

While people don't send as many personal letters via mail as they once did and e-mail and fax machines have decreased some business mail, Daugherty said his business bulk mail and packages seem to be increasing.

"People get a lot more catalogues and order more through e-bay or other shopping programs," he said.

Prior to joining the postal service, Daugherty was driving a gas transport truck. He took the test to become a carrier, but hadn't been called for five years.

"I just about gave up," he said.

He said the office hadn't been hiring many carriers. When slots came open, Daugherty's score was high enough that he got an interview and was offered the position.

While customers are the upside of Daugherty's job, dogs and weather pose some of its biggest challenges, he said.

"I've never been bitten by a dog, but I've had a couple close calls," Daugherty said. "One time a big old Rottweiler came at me. I sprayed him (with pepper spray carriers carry to ward off attack) and got away, but my knees were shaking. I kept thinking he would come back and find me on the route."

He said looking a dog square in the eye is generally the best approach.

"If you look at them they usually will leave you alone," he said. "They can sense it when you are afraid."

Offering a gnarling dog his mailbag as a target is another option.

Weather extremes can also present carriers with challenges. Even though Daugherty's route is largely a driving one, constantly opening and closing his window exposes him to the cold. Carriers with walking routes deal with it constantly. He said many carriers wear long underwear and most wear layers of clothing to fight off cold temperatures.

He has a special pair of gloves with the thumb and a finger top cut off so he can more easily finger the mail. Carriers have access to special traction devices to wear over their shoes to avoid slipping on ice, Daugherty said.

In summertime, keeping hydrated is key during extreme heat, he said. The rain, sleet and snow don't keep carriers from delivering, but Daugherty said delivery was suspended once because of extremely cold temperatures.

"Safety is really a key issue," he said.

He remembered one time about 15 years ago when he was attempting to drive up the hills around Harrison Street during an ice storm. His jeep climbed to where the city sand truck was stuck. Then Daugherty got out and delivered to the top of the hill by walking across lawns.

"When I got back down and was walking across the street to my truck, I slid right past it," he said.

And Daugherty probably can tell you the name and address of the customer whose yard he slid into.