{"id":1314884,"date":"2019-09-21T18:17:12","date_gmt":"2019-09-22T00:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=987868"},"modified":"2019-09-23T08:28:14","modified_gmt":"2019-09-23T14:28:14","slug":"sunday-profile-tim-romero-jr-wears-his-uniform-with-joy-and-pride","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/sunday-profile-tim-romero-jr-wears-his-uniform-with-joy-and-pride\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Profile: Tim Romero Jr. wears his uniform with joy and pride"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.4382716049383\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-987868-90\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/20190918-20190918DSC_7443-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/20190918-20190918DSC_7443-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent | Tim Romero Jr. outside the Glenwood Springs Post Office where he has been employed since 1998.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Tim Romero Jr. outside the Glenwood Springs Post Office where he has been employed since 1998.<\/strong><br \/>Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/20190918-20190918DSC_7443-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Tim Romero Jr. outside the Glenwood Springs Post Office where he has been employed since 1998.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/romero-flan-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/romero-flan.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Provided | One of his signature Mexican flan cakes.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>One of his signature Mexican flan cakes.<\/strong><br \/>Provided<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/romero-flan.jpg\" alt=\"One of his signature Mexican flan cakes.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/romero-uniform-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/romero-uniform.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Provided | Tim Romero Jr. was a Navy nurse before joining the USPS. In 1991 he was deployed to Kuwait during the Gulf War.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Tim Romero Jr. was a Navy nurse before joining the USPS. In 1991 he was deployed to Kuwait during the Gulf War.<\/strong><br \/>Provided<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/romero-uniform.jpg\" alt=\"Tim Romero Jr. was a Navy nurse before joining the USPS. In 1991 he was deployed to Kuwait during the Gulf War.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/sunday-profile-tim-romero-jr-wears-his-uniform-with-joy-and-pride\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/sunday-profile-tim-romero-jr-wears-his-uniform-with-joy-and-pride\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>When asked what would be the best time to take a photo to accompany this story, Timoteo Romero Jr. answered, \u201cAnytime, I\u2019m always ready.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With an impeccable uniform, which he confirmed he irons daily, and a nametag that simply reads Tim, Romero Jr. seems to truly enjoy his position as a senior clerk at the Glenwood Springs Post Office.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn my 24 years at the Post Office, I don\u2019t think I ever showed up with a bad attitude,\u201d he says with pride.<\/p>\n<p>Romero Jr. first started as a part-time flexible clerk at the Aspen Post Office in 1995. He transferred to the Glenwood Springs branch in 1998, where he hopes to retire in just a couple of years.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote p402_hide\" readability=\"2.5\">\n<blockquote readability=\"8\">\n<p>\u201cI went from one uniform to another,\u201d he said. \u201c I wear all my uniforms with pride, military or Post Office.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>But life hasn\u2019t always been this straightforward for him.<\/p>\n<p>Born in Mexico and raised in the United States, Romero Jr. moved to the Roaring Fork Valley in the late 1980s, where he decided to enlist in the military after visiting a recruiting office at the West Glenwood Springs mall.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was young, I wanted to travel and be in a uniform,\u201d he remembers. \u201cI always thought that being in a uniform made you cool.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 1991, Romero Jr. was deployed to Kuwait during the Gulf War for 52 days.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was pretty tough,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDuring those 52 days, I don\u2019t remember going to the bathroom, sleeping or eating. I just remember some ugly notions about the war, and I usually don\u2019t like to talk about it,\u201d he confessed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt brings bad memories. I break down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Later on, Romero Jr. admitted suffering from PTSD but didn\u2019t want to talk about it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have all my ugly memories locked in a little room in my head,\u201d he said. \u201cUnless I have to talk to a specialist, I don\u2019t like to talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Life after combat<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>After traveling the world with the Navy for eight years, and independently following his service, Romero Jr.\u2019s transition to civilian&nbsp;life went somewhat smoothly \u2014 this time under a different uniform \u2014 the USPS.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen they put me to work with customer service I was horrified to be in public,\u201d he remembers. \u201cI didn\u2019t know how I was going to behave. I didn\u2019t think I could handle it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now, with more than 20 years as a Post Office employee, Romero Jr. is nothing but proud of his career choice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI went from one uniform to another,\u201d he said. \u201c I wear all my uniforms with pride, military or Post Office.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Often recognized for his outgoing personality and contagious sense of humor at the window where he greets customers, Romero Jr. continues to find ways to make the job interesting every day.<\/p>\n<p>For example, by learning people\u2019s names.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know most of our customers and their faces, but I didn\u2019t know their names,\u201d he explained. \u201cNow I ask, \u2018May I know your name, please?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Chihuahua native is also passionate about helping the local Hispanic community, speaking Spanish with post office customers who are not fluent in English, and as a volunteer translator at the Glenwood Springs courthouse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t get paid to translate, but I do it because people need it.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>What\u2019s next for Tim<\/h3>\n<p>Romero Jr. plans to retire within the next couple of years and has plenty of sweet plans for the future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverybody that knows me knows that I make these amazing chocoflans,\u201d he said about his special Mexican recipe.<\/p>\n<p>Romero Jr., who follows a gluten-free diet, is also proud of his Mexican cookies and other gourmet flan cakes he sometimes bakes for sale. \u201cI love to cook, most of my meals are prepared at home. I even cook for my dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His two dogs, both boxers \u2014 one of which is paralyzed from the waist down \u2014 also get to enjoy his active lifestyle and love for traveling.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI take the dogs on vacation and to ski,\u201d said Romero Jr. who likes to ski Powderhorn and has an A-Basin military&nbsp;season&nbsp;pass.<\/p>\n<p>Next on his travel list is Machu Picchu in Peru. \u201cI want to do the six-day Inca trail,\u201d he said before mentioning he also wants to revisit Brazil and Egypt.<\/p>\n<p>Romero Jr. says in addition to English and Spanish, he can also speak a little Italian and Portuguese, and knows about 50 to 80 words in Tarahumara, a Mexican&nbsp;indigenous language.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI usually never stay home,\u201d he said. \u201cUnless I need to cook.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"mailto:nolen@postindependent.com\">nolen@postindependent.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/sunday-profile-tim-romero-jr-wears-his-uniform-with-joy-and-pride\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tim Romero Jr. outside the Glenwood Springs Post Office where he has been employed since 1998.Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent One of his signature Mexican flan cakes.Provided Tim Romero Jr. was a Navy nurse before joining the USPS. In 1991 he was deployed to Kuwait during the Gulf War.Provided Show CaptionsHide Captions When asked what [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1314884","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-27 19:57:34","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1314884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1314884"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1314884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1314912,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1314884\/revisions\/1314912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1314884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1314884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1314884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}