Watchman's son

We have a watchman to look after our building. His youngest son belonged to gang which was involved in beating up people for money. The son found this was an easy way to make money and enjoy his life without doing any work.He did not listen to his father or mother who repeatedly told him to get out of the gang and earn his living doing some decent job. One day the a rival gang attacked him.They beat him up very badly and chopped off one hand. His father who is a poor watchman earning about Rs2500 a month had to run from pillar to post to get enough money to meet the son's hospital expenses. The son's gang did not help him. The watchman's daughter in law had some gold ornaments given to her by her parents at the time of her wedding . She voluntarily gave the gold to be sold to meet the operation expenses. The watchman went to each flat with folded hands and tears in his eyes begging for generous contribution. Many flat owners took pity on him and gave him money. Some scolded him for not bringing up his son properly and refused to give him anything. Now the operation is over and the son is slowly getting well. However,he doesn't know what job he can do to earn a living.

Electricity

Kerala State Electricity Board is a monpoly supplier of electricity in the State. The fluctuations in supply are so high that costly electrical equipments at home get damaged. Recently the mother board of my 29inch TV got burnt because of sudden high voltage. I had connected the TV to a UPS and yet I could not protect the TV. In the process the UPS also got damaged. I had to spend Rs.4000 to get a new mother board and a stabliser. The struggle I had with the TV manufacturer is another story. Will the Electricity Board compensated me? I lost so much money for no fault of mine. Besides,the frequent breakdown in electricity supply is very disturbing and annoying. Sometimes electricity is switched off 3 or 4 times in a day that you feel you are living in old stone age. None of the electrical appliances such as fan, fridge, Tv, mixie, iron box,electric bulb, computer etc. can be used. You feel helpless and nothing can be done. Nobody can be blamed because no one will take reponsibility and if you try to fix the responsibility on some one you will get into trouble. So just grin and bear it. Sometimes you should know how your ancestors lived.

News Paper

I subscribe to three newspapers. I get up around 5.30 or 6 in the morning without an alarm clock, make a cup of tea and wait for the newspapers to be delivered at my door. Sitting on my sofa I can hear the papers being dropped. Normaly, young boys deliver the papers since they want to earn some money to meet their expenses without troubling their parents. The papers are usualy delivered arount 6.30 AM. If I don't get the papers at this time I get upset. I start pacing the hall up and down, open the door several times to see whether the papers have been dropped without my knowlege and even scold the boy when he comes late. I even threaten the news paper agent to cancel the subscription.I am not particulary interested in reading every thing in the paper. Mostly I scan through the headlines and see if there is anything worth reading. Whether I read the papers or not I must get them in time and that too at6.30 in the morning without fail. I detest holidays for newspapers. I feel uneasy,disturbed and that something is missing for the whole day.
People get addicted to so many things and I think I am addicted to newspaper.

Accident

Today a private bus banged a car and was trying to drive away. The car driver chased the bus and brought it to a stop. The driver of the bus was saying that it was not his fault the bus banged the car because the bus cannot stop like a car suddenly on the spot but it always movers a little forward. Therefore the bus driver cannot be blamed for the accident. The car driver insisted that the bus driver should pay for the damages to the car and he asked for Rs.500 to repair the car. Finally after a lot of shouting, haggling and bargaining the bus driver pais Rs.300.
The bus drivers in Ernakulam are notorious for rash driving and causing fatal accidents. The police is incapable of controlling them. The Private Bus Association is very powerful and they can go on lightning strikes causing great difficulties for the travelling public.










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Miracle

Today I received an SMS from a friend of mine containg a prayer to Mother Mary and asking me to send it to 7 persons today itself so that I will experience a miracle tomorrow. Initially I was reluctant to comply with his request because I was doubtfull of the miracle taking place. After a few hours I thought I needed a miracle in my life very badly and I sent the prayer to 12 people. I now hope and pray that a miracle will take place tomorrow. I know faith will move mountains.

Security Guard

To day I met a young man of 23 years working as a security guard in a branch of a huge company. He was a very pleasant young man with good behaviour. He was upset at the time I met him. When I asked him what was bothering him, he explained that he was scolded by the manager of the branch for doing double duty. He told me that he would quit the job that very moment but for the fact that he needed money to meet the operation expenses of his father who had a heart problem.
On probing further he told me that he has to put up with a lot of trouble to retain the job. For example the agency for which he was working had rented a house with three bed rooms , a hall and two toilets. There were 45 security guards living in that house. He can never sleep in the house because it was overcrowded and somebody or the other kept walking in and out of the house all the time in the night He had to get up at 3 in the morning so that he can shave, bathe etc and reach the workspot in time.
While we were talking there was a call from his father and it was time for me to go.

Exercise

As you grow older it is absolutely important to keep yourself active and do some physical work every day. You can sweep and swab the floor, wipe the furniture, clean the fans, paint the walls, doors and windows etc. You health will decline if you spend too much time reading newspapers. have endless cups of coffee or tea and watch too much television. It is better to go for a brisk walk both morning and evening and possibly get some job to keep your mind and body busy and also earn some money. They say an idle mind is devils workshop. They also say that it is better to wear out than to rust out. Use it or lose it is another saying. I recently read that all animals.except human beings, know that the true purpose of life is to enjoy it.

Rag picker

To day is mission Sunday.At the Church there was an aution sale of many useful items.I bought a framed picture with a prayer to the Guardian Angel.
On the way back I was surprised to note that a small shack where two old rag picker couple lived for years was no more. The stray dogs and cats which used to hang around the tiny shack were also missing. On enquiry I found out that the old man died three months ago and his wife also died few days back. I used to give my old clothes to this couple. Sometimes I gave them little money. I felt very sad. About a week ago while I was walking to the bus stop this old woman was there in front of me and I gave her Rs10 and she blessed me and muttered something. Of course she never asked me for money at anytime but I gave her of my own free will because I felt sorry for her. She was very poor but very hard working. When her husband was sick and unable to work, she used to get up early morning, collect various items thrown in the waste bins around the colony, sell them to the scrap merchnt, and with the money she used to cook food and feed the old man. The way side hotel owner said that she allways paid for what she bought.A proud poor woman who always held her head high and never complained of her miserable condition. May her soul rest in eternal peace.

Buying shares

Yesterday I went to the stock broker and purchased some shares @Rs.104 per share. After a few hours the share price went down to Rs.92 per share and in the procees I lost Rs12 per share in a matter of few hours. This was primarily because I listened to the adivice of a young man who had very little experience in stock market business and I bought the shares when the prices were going up. I did not use my common sense. I was carried away by the impulse that I should buy before the prices went very high. Nomaly you should buy when the prices are going down. Any way you have to learn from mistakes. There is a saying "ACT IN HASTE AND REPENT AT LEISURE"