“Neither snow nor rain nor heat of day nor gloom of night shall stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

As I’m already well aware, The Evening Sun is published every weekday, with only Christmas Day being the exception, all year long. This standing tradition has not missed a day in 118 years, thanks to people like 12-year-old courier Nicholas Mooney.

Nick delivers the paper on far more days that the local post office does – in the face of snow, rain and even the occasional state or federal holiday.

A relatively new employee to our operation, Nick is a Norwich Middle School seventh grader and has been delivering The Evening Sun along his two newspaper routes in the City of Norwich since Sept. 10, 2008.

For all you who don’t deliver newspapers, let me tell you that the months between September and February are a four-month-long winter weather run of the gauntlet. Nick, who travels his route on foot, is obviously not a delivery boy any longer – he has been sired in the trials of mother nature’s chilling winter weather and was a delivery man.

“I hate the cold. During the winter I really wanted to quit, but I didn’t. I like delivering the papers the rest of the time, just not when it’s so cold,” said Nick.

“But Nick,” I said, “You’ve really only had the route during the coldest part of the year.”