"Yes." I responded blankly.

There was a pause, he was waiting to speak, collecting his thoughts, rewording them, "I really wish you kids would be into something else."

YOU KIDS?!? I was just me into this! I wish it was "you kids." I was totally dumbfounded. What a statement! I mean I don't really wish he'd stop deliver that milk. But I replied, "It's not your everyday preaching."

"Yeah, " he muttered, "if you listen to anything long enough, you'll believe in it sooner or later." I guess someone had drilled that into his head over and over.

"Well I've only heard this class a few times."

He paused, not quite sure what to say. "Uh ... I didn't really catch all he said."

So I explained, "He was basically saying that when we think we are happy because of material fulfillment, we are simply experiencing less suffering. But we mistakenly take it as happiness."

"I guess that's the new things, huh."

"No, actually it's a pretty ancient idea."

"Yeah, well, when I was your age, I was into, you know, parties, drinkin', girls, motorcycles..."

"I was never really interested in those things. I never really partied. I tried the whole girl thing for a while, but it always failed. I'm just trying to be less materialistic." I then noticed him looking through the window at my car, "I do have a car though, it gets me where I'm going. I am sort of partial to VW's, but other than that I'm pretty much not into the material side of life."

Sort of off struck (it must have blown him away or something), he replied, "Guess that's the new fad."

"Hardly, I think that the trends have always been really based on materialism."

"Well," he searched, "whatever makes you stand out in the crowd."

"No, I never cared that much for being noticed."

"Oh." He looked out to his milk truck, "I guess it's whatever gets you by then."

Very thoughtfully I looked at him, "even more than just getting me by."

He shook his head and walked out the door. Back to his job to be a slave. And me back to mine. The difference? The consciousness of the worker. We both need to work, but who are we really working for? Look at it this way, he's stuck there and he knows it. Even if I work here for the rest of my life, I'm not stuck.