Door to Door

Their was a rather small man that drove a Volkswagen beetle. I can still see that that little blue car coming up our dirt road. Sometimes I heard my father say, here comes mouse. I got the impression he would rather not have seen this man. Other times he was welcomed and invited in for coffee. Us kids were told to go outside or upstairs, this didn't concern children. This short grey haired man in a three piece suit carried an attache case. My dad told me once he also carried a pistol. He was our insurance man. Well,at least the life insurance man. I don't recall what company he represented. This man came faithfully every month to collect his premiums. If Mom and Dad had any questions about their coverage he was there. Now that was service. He was almost like a distant relative. I had Uncles that would visit and I got sent out of the room when they were there too. LOL  When that method of collection stopped I do not know.
I remember also a man named Harry Goldstein. He drove a green panel truck and sold all matter of goods. It was always fun to see him arrive. Mom would look at his catalog,as he continually made suggestions about what to buy. I remember her buying 45 RPM records from him. What other goods she may have purchased I can't say. That you could buy on time I know. Place your order with him and on his next visit he would deliver your order. How convenient is that ? If anything was wrong with the order he took care of that right on the spot.
I was reminded of this because of some recent postings on Facebook. The milk man and the Dugan man delivering their products. They jogged my memories of the others that would knock on the door. " Avon calling " The fuller brush man too. People selling encyclopedias and magazines. Vacuum cleaner salesmen. And on one occasion Jehovah's Witnesses ! They weren't trying to sell anything but Mom sure didn't like it. I remember her telling them she was Catholic and sending them packing. I was small at the time and figured they must be some bad people. Later they built a church in town and it's steeple was struck by lightning ! That confirmed my impression of them. Funny the things you think when you are a kid.
Things sure have changed over the years. Now I can sit,locked in my home with a keyboard,and order virtually anything my mind can imagine. I don't need to ever see anyone to make a payment either. I don't even need to see or touch the money. Just direct deposit it and debit it. Or just charge it and put it on automatic payment and forget about it. Few people ever knock at your door anymore. Too dangerous. And too expensive. The cost of driving door to door, no one would even consider walking, would consume any profits you made.
Yes I guess you could say we have made progress. Everything is available to almost anyone. We can now retreat into our own little world and be safe. No need for personal interaction. We could stay in our homes undisturbed for a very long time as long as the bills were paid. It is safer in the cave. That is a lesson we have never forgotten. At least for me it is an unusual occurrence to have someone knocking at the door. When it does happen I get a bad feeling that something is wrong. A couple of times when " Mouse " could be seen coming up the drive Mom said, shhh, stay out of sight and make believe we aren't home. Guess she didn't have the payment. It was fun for us kids.