You Won’t Waste Water After Reading This

John asked Jackson and his family what they do to get the elixir of life. Their answer warrants its own post.

For drinking water, the family buys Culligan, as the PAP water cannot be trusted to be safe (we’re very careful in the shower not to accidently swallow). For water needed for bathing and other activities. Jackson’s mom and sisters get it twice a week. Here’s the drill, and I do mean drill . . .

The family lives on the side of a mountain. Four of them walk and hour and a half down the mountain to a river, each carrying three large buckets. They fill the buckets and carry one in each hand and the third on their heads. They walk up the mountain; the return trip takes two hours. Then they repeat this process two more times. It takes them two 11 hour days of grueling hiking and even more grueling carrying-of-the water to get to get the H2O the family needs. When John said, “This is difficult,” Jackson, who can’t help because of his heart, replied, “Very.”