José, the UPS Guy

What a loyal guy. José has delivered packages to our brownstone for years. Strong, willing, handsome, friendly, helpful, a neighborhood fixture. He's been hefting boxes for this upscale Greenwich Village neighborhood for nearly 20 years. My house alone must have been a big burden - regular deliveries of 50-lb bags of bird seed - all sorts of things from catalogues and stores. Oh, we recycle the boxes, and I pay the hefty freight for the privilege of home delivery. But José isn't doing too well these days. He has a really bad limp, and he's in a lot of pain. Lately someone else rings our bell for deliveries. I am left with the terrible thought that this wonderful man may have lost his health in service to us. I miss him.