Our Milkman

When you think about how life could otherwise have been, the possibilities are endless. A peek into the life of an everyday guest tells us how. Our milkman drops by at 10am every day with 1-1.5 liters of milk for us. He carries about ~100 liters on him when going around the town knocking doors and pouring milk (or milk and water or water and milk however the customer's luck is that day). He begins his daily tour 7am and by 12:30-1pm has bicycled about 40km. He repeats the process 5-9pm, on a different 30km route, for the evening deliveries. He basically does a 'Tour-De-France' every month-and-a-half just because he can't afford petrol/gas if he gets his hands on a motorbike! He gets up at 4am to tend to his cows and buffaloes. Someone has to make sure they are getting their share of nutrition, aren't ill, haven't strayed or been lured away by someone else who is aware of their resale value, and needs to milk them dry of their daily production. So this unassuming man in his 30s, with an appearance some years older than his real age, stays along with a few hired help, away from his wife and kids, who are growing up fast back in the village, just so the town kids can drink milk and grow tall and strong. He doesn't have the time to sit and chat, unless he's come up with an infection that might need medical supervision from my mother. Compare this with being too lazy to change the channel on the idiot box. He also doesn't keep his own accounts, he trusts us with his payments, not quite like how we trust him with our milk.

Remember, if you've 'got milk', someone's sweat, and maybe even tears, is behind it.