I deliver papers for a living.

But I feel that, at nearly 35 and a father of five, I've outgrown the label of "paper carrier". Being self employed, I am usually able to fend off questions by the condescending by simply stating I'm self employed. But for those who press on, I am a media distribution specialist (after all, that is what I do; distribute media). It sounds better.

That being said, it's not a job for the faint of heart. Frequent driving means I see and am affected by the daily climb of prices of gas at the pump. While a scant few customers tip us outside of the Christmas season, our income is greatly limited, and we're watching fossil fuels eat up an increasingly larger chunk of that income. In an area where jobs aren't plentiful, we're hanging in there.

I really feel our role is underappreciated. We live in an area where there is no local television news to speak of (unless someone robs a bank here or something), and so for community events, many customers are reliant on the information contained within the pages of newsprint I disseminate. The cost of papers has remained fairly stable, as has the amount of money given to the carriers.

So, if you personally receive your paper at home, thank your Media Distribution Specialist. And you MAY want to consider tipping them.