with the development of science and technology, change has penetrated into every aspect of our daily life. to illustrate that, i'd like to make a comparison of these two seemingly insignificant things: milkman and mailman, whose differences indicate our changing way of living with the times.
home milk delivery has almost gone extinct in china now, also gone with it are the milkmen, who once delivered bottled fresh milk door-to-door. on the other hand, mailman's business or the courier service has thrived as online shopping gains popularity. however, in retrospect, i find something has been lost in this transition, something shakespeare called as “the milk of human kindness”。
when i was a kid, milk wasn't for sale everywhere. for the families who need it, they depended on the milkmen to take it from the local dairy farms to their houses. in our neighborhood, there was such a milkman, whose arrival was much anticipated by the children and always brought us laughter and joy. he knew the name of every kid and could easily see through our tricks. if we didn't behave, he would side with our parents and threaten to rob us of the nutritious drink. the entire neighborhood was acquainted with him; saw him as a member of the community just like the many residents or street vendors. there was a bond between all of us for it was not only the commodities that been transacted, but also a sense of caring and dependability. and that small box fixed onto our door, other than being a drop-off point for milk; it was a communication junction between the people as we took the initiative to reach out to others.
fast forward to today, milk is ubiquitous with no dedicated delivery system. but the convenience level of our live has gone up a notch. almost everything is for sale online, which spares us all the travelling and talking. with a few ready clicks, shopping is done. the rest is left for those speed delivery companies. usually it's a grumpy mailman, who reaches us through cell phone, urging everyone to pick up their parcels as soon as possible. and the minute the receipt is signed, we rush back to unpack while the courier dashes to the next destination. there is barely a conversation carried out, nor do we feel the need to talk to such a stranger, who changes from time to time frequently. it seems that people are always in a hurry now, though we have more conveniences, still we run short of time to stop and stare, to speak and share.
call me an old-timer, but i think the personal touch represented by the milkman is what has been missing in the modern society. william wordsworth once wrote that “getting and spending, we lay waste our powers.” modern technology may have multiplied our possessions or gave us more conveniences, but we run the risk of reducing our values if we lay waste our power of interpersonal relationships.
隨著科學技術的發展，變化已經滲透到我們日常生活的方方面面。要說明的是，我想讓這兩個看似不起眼的東西比較：牛奶，郵遞員，其差異表明我們與時代生活方式的改變。
家裡的牛奶幾乎已經滅絕，現在在中國，它也消失了的送奶工，曾送瓶裝草原鮮奶送貨上門。另一方面，郵遞員的業務或快遞服務的蓬勃發展，網上購物的普及。然而，回想起來，我發現在這一轉變中，有了一些東西，莎士比亞稱之為“人類之奶”。
當我還是個孩子的時候，牛奶不是到處都賣。對於那些有需要的家庭來說，他們只能依靠送奶工把它從當地的乳品農場房子。在我們的附近，有這樣一個送牛奶的人，他們的到來，是孩子們期待已久的，總是給我們帶來笑聲和歡樂。他知道每一個孩子的名字，可以很容易地通過我們的把戲。如果我們不守規矩，他會和我們的父母一起威脅要搶我們的營養飲料。整個社區都與他熟識，他認為他是社會上的一員，就像許多居民和街頭小販一樣。有一個我們之間的結合不僅是被交易的商品，也有關心和信任。和那個小盒子固定在我們的門，而不是一個下降點牛奶，它是一個溝通的人之間的交界處，我們採取了主動接觸其他人。
快速前進到今天，牛奶是無處不在的沒有專門的交付系統。但是我們的生活便利程度已經上升了一個缺口。幾乎所有的東西都在網上出售，這使我們所有的旅行和談話都有了。用幾點準備，購物就完成了。其餘的則是留給那些快速交貨的公司。它通常是一個脾氣暴躁的郵遞員，他通過手機與我們聯繫，希望每個人都拿起他們的包裹儘快。和一分鐘的收據簽字，我們趕回來打開而快遞衝到下一個目的地。我們幾乎沒有進行一次談話，也不覺得有必要對這樣一個陌生人說話，他經常改變時間。似乎人們總是在匆匆忙忙的現在，雖然我們有更多的方便，但我們卻沒有時間停下來盯著，說，分享。
叫我老古董，但我認為送奶工為代表的個人風格是什麼一直在現代社會中失蹤。華茲華斯威廉曾寫道：“獲取和消費，我們浪費我們的權力。”現代科技可能會增加我們的財產，或者給我們更多的便利，但是我們冒風險的減少我們的價值，如果我們浪費我們的人際關係的力量。