When milk was personally delivered and people had a generous heart life was good
Bo Bo was up early to start his new job as a milkman . He had just picked up the new electric powered milk truck at the dairy and drove to Charlies house to ask his help to do the delivery to the houses in the village .
He parked the truck out of sight so Charlie wouldn’t see , because if Charlie suspected there was work to be done, he would pretend he wasn’t home .
Bo Bo knocked on the front door . Charlie looked from the upstairs window and shouted ,
“Bo Bo what’s happening”.
“Charlie , come on, no time to wasted . It’s a new day , places to go people to meet “
“Who are we seeing and where are we going Bo Bo ?“
“Charlie doesn’t ask so many questions , let’s go . It’ be an adventure for the two of us”.
“ Ok I’m on my way; I love adventures Bo Bo “
Charlie closed the upstairs window and was out the front door like a flash . Bo Bo said ,
“Come on Chalie , Follow me “
Bo Bo walked at a fast speed up the street and around the corner where the milk truck was parked and got into the driver’s seat . Charlie stood there stunned and said “ Is this part of the adventure Bo Bo ? “
Bo Bo replied .
“It’s part of the adventure , like a mystery tour of the village , we’ll bringing milk to the houses so people can have their tea white and their cereals soft and swallowable”.
Bo Bo watched the smile run away from Charlies face as he looked to the ground and softly replied with a stagged tone .
‘Bo Bo, you tricked me . I thought we were going camping or to the beach or something . I never thought we’d be delivering milk around the village “
“Ok Charlie , please yourself then but I did buy some of your favourite chocolate and sure it won’t take us long to get this dome and we’ll have all day to spend in the town , tell you what I’ll even buy you lunch while we’re there . Come on the exercise will be good for the both of us .“
“Well, I suppose you’re right Bo Bo , what kind of chocolate did you buy me ?”
Charlie asked in a happier tone .
“That Corkie one “
Bo Bo said and Charlie raised his eyes to the sky saying .
“It’s a Yorkie bar not a Corkie ?’’
Bo Bo handed Charlie a half-eaten bar and said ,
“I tested it first just to make sure it wasn’t out of date “
Charlie grabbed the bar of chocolate and said ,
“Well, that’s just great . You should have asked me first before you ate half of my chocolate “
Bo Bo had a look at his delivery list and said ,
“We’re starting our delivery run a Hisbert Street . Let’s go”
As they came to the top of Hisbert Street Bo Bo parked the truck outside Davy’s Grocery shop and said every time we stop, I’ll tell you how many bottles and where to go . I’ll do my run and you’ll do your run until we’re done , it’ll be fun Charlie. Now just take four bottles of milk from one of the milk crates and give them to Davy and be friendly , say good morning , service with a smile is what we’ll all about “
“”Bo Bo I’ve only got two hands . how can I bring four bottles ?”
“Learn how to improvise Charlie . Put one bottle under your armpits and carry the other two . Got it and try not to drop any on the way. “
Bo Bo watched as Charlie carefully took the bottles inside the shop . He returned with a great big grin in his face and Bo Bo asked .
“How did it go Charlie ?“
Charlie pulled out a new bar of chocolate from his pocket saying.
” When I said good morning to Davy , he gave me this chocolate and told me to have a great day . Bo Bo, you know what , I think I like this new adventure “
Bo Bo said ,
“So, I told you , service with a smile , Next thing maybe you get a few coins from somebody Charlie , you never know “
Charlie replied ,
“Come on Bo Bo we have work to be done “
Bo Bo laughed and drove up the street to the first house on the list , looking at his list, he said ,
“Charlie, you take the left side of the street and I’ll do the right side . Every time you deliver , come back to the truck and I’ll tell you the number of the house and how many bottles to bring .
Charlie returned after bringing 4 bottles of milk to number 86 and her looked a little upset . Bo Bo looked at him and asked .
“What happened Charie ?”
“There was some dog poo in the path at 86 and I walked all over it . Now it’s all over my boors .“
Bo smiled and said ,
“ Wipe your boots in that puddle of water there on the street , its only dog poo , it’s not acid, the rest of it will wear off by the time we’ve finished our delivery here Hisbert Street “
Sure, enough Charlie soon forgot all about the dog poo on his boots .
Mrs Kennedys was standing outside her front door as Charlie made his way there with six bottles of milk in a small hand crate equipped to carry eight bottles. She stood and watched Charlie take each one of the bottles from the crate before handing him a few coins . Charlie’s face lit up with delight and she took one of the bottles and went inside the house .
Charlie was now whistling a tune when he returned to the truck and Bo Bo said ,
“So, Charlie , the wee bird has found a place to rest then ?“
Charlie presented the coins her had been given saying ,
“I’m starting to like this adventure, Bo Bo. “
People were always happy to see the milkmen arrive and they appreciated the service .
Bo Bo checked the list for the next delivery and told Charlie to add one bottle of buttermilk to the two bottles of cream milk for number 12 .
“What’s buttermilk Bo Bo ?”
Charlie asked .
“It’s a thing you don’t see much anymore Charlie; it’s kind of a sour milk some people like to use it to make pancakes but it’s not the sort of thing you would put in your tea “
\Around and around the streets they went , walking up the paths, having a laugh or two picking up all the empty bottles on the way . They were picking them up and lying them down , as people waited to change their black tea to white and their porridge from lumpy to smooth . Now and then a little note was left here inside an empty bottle asking for an extra pint or a bottle of orange juice . There were some dogs inside house who barked but couldn’t bite . As the young children were making their way to school most of the delivery had been done .
Thery had to return the milk truck back to the dairy where it would be plugged for a recharge for the next day’s delivery .
Mrs Kennedys cat , Tiddles often went on the prowl around different houses in the village . Everyone who fed Tiddles thought they owned and as she walked right in front of the milk truck Bo Bo had to swerve sharply to one side to miss her .
Tiddles was very lucky to have survived but in the efforts to miss her m, three crates of milk had fallen off the back of the milk truck .
Bo Bo knew that he would have to pay for milk that had been spilled but it was a better outcome than a funeral for Mrs Kennedys cat who everyone loved .
Charlie helped Bo Bo to pick up the broken bottles from the road and Tiddles was very happy to assist with mopping up the spilt milk . Charlie looked at Bo Bo and said “Jeazzus Bo Bo that was close we nearly killed Mrs Kennedy’s cat and she would have asked me for the tip back if Tiddles had been killed . How you feeling Bo Bo?”
,
“No use crying over spilt milk Charlie , let’s get this truck back to the dairy .
“No problem , so what time are we starting tomorrow, Bo Bo ?”
“Early “
Bo Bo said and Charlie responded eagerly .,
“How early Bo Bo ?”
Bo Bo thought for a second and replied.
“Be ready at 6am . I pick you out the front of your house. Did you enjoy the adventure today, Charlie ?”
“It was smashing Bo Bo “
Right away they both burst out laughing .
“Let’s go and have that lunch I promised you Charlie “
That's one way to get a lazy friend working. A charming tale of days gone by. It's interesting, with the Internet, more and more people are ordering and having groceries delivered. Probably by electric vehicle. And soon, by electric vehicle without any driver. And probably even sooner than we think, by drone.
You brought me back to my grade school days in a central Wisconsin industrial town. Gasoline driven milk trucks delivered the milk, butter and probably, orange juice that mother had ordered the day before to our porch before we woke up in the morning.
The bottles were 1 quart with a bulb shape at the top where the cream separated from the milk after it was put in the bottle during the trip to our porch. When it was below freezing, the bottle was always capped with just a paper cap. That way, as the milk expanded and froze it would push the cardboard cap off and up out of the bottle so the bottle wouldn't break from the pressure.
Those milk trucks were a welcome part of the neighborhood, like the milkman and mailman.
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