My friend, Rodd Whelpley, has discovered
various farm cams online but, he says
the viewer can’t experience what you did
growing up on the farm. “One can’t hear the
whoosh of the milk as it leaves the udders,
smell the cow patties that the animal drops,
feel the hair on the backside of the cow, can’t
taste the milk.” He wonders how long this
will satisfy this virtual world, where watching
passes for experience. A world where education
comes from a distant, untouchable place.
Wholly without flavor. Rodd adds that
“cam milking is nothing like when your dad
had kids come to the round barn, and it’s a
million miles from being even close to that –
and I only read about it.” I agree with Rodd –
but maybe, just maybe, it’s better than nothing.
2025 Jacqueline Jackson
This article appears in Adams Street at a crossroads.
