The drudgeries of life
Monday, August 22, 2005
The cost of a miracle
It's not very often that I find my eyes welling up with tears that I'm afraid to shed! But after reading this beautiful story that I received in the mail yesterday, I couldn't help it! Do read it! It goes as follows:
A little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes. Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.
She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention but he was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!
"And what do you want?" the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. "I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages," he said without waiting for a reply to his question.
"Well, I want to talk to you about my brother," Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. "He's really, really sick... and I want to buy a miracle."
" I beg your pardon?" said the pharmacist.
" His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?"
"We don't sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry but I can't help you," the pharmacist said, softening a little.
"Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs."
The pharmacist's brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, "What kind of a miracle does your brother need?"
"I don't know," Tess replied with her eyes welling up. I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money."
"How much do you have?" asked the man from Chicago.
"One dollar and eleven cents," Tess answered barely audibly. "And it's all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to."
"Well, what a coincidence," smiled the man. "A dollar and eleven cents---the exact price of a miracle for little brothers. "
He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said "Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the miracle you need."
That well dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed free of charge and it wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well.
Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place. "That surgery," her Mom whispered. "was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?"
Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost...one dollar and eleven cents .... plus the faith of a little child...
In our lives, we never know how many miracles we will need...
A miracle is not the suspension of natural law, but the operation of a higher law....
I know you'll keep the ball moving!
A little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes. Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.
She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention but he was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!
"And what do you want?" the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. "I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages," he said without waiting for a reply to his question.
"Well, I want to talk to you about my brother," Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. "He's really, really sick... and I want to buy a miracle."
" I beg your pardon?" said the pharmacist.
" His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?"
"We don't sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry but I can't help you," the pharmacist said, softening a little.
"Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs."
The pharmacist's brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, "What kind of a miracle does your brother need?"
"I don't know," Tess replied with her eyes welling up. I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money."
"How much do you have?" asked the man from Chicago.
"One dollar and eleven cents," Tess answered barely audibly. "And it's all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to."
"Well, what a coincidence," smiled the man. "A dollar and eleven cents---the exact price of a miracle for little brothers. "
He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said "Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the miracle you need."
That well dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed free of charge and it wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well.
Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place. "That surgery," her Mom whispered. "was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?"
Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost...one dollar and eleven cents .... plus the faith of a little child...
In our lives, we never know how many miracles we will need...
A miracle is not the suspension of natural law, but the operation of a higher law....
I know you'll keep the ball moving!
Sunday, August 21, 2005
The sands of time
Have you ever felt sorry for yourself for dying to get engrossed in something that you love and yet not being able to do so? Well I surely have! And it has been that way for about 2 months. TWO looong, hectic months! Phew! By saying that I'm enervated and mentally exhausted right now, I'd be making the understatement of the century! But boy! Am I overjoyed at getting back to Blogging! First and foremost, I'd like to extend a hearty thanks to all those ardent fans of mine who find it difficult to survive without reading the verbal crap found in my blog which is a proficiency of mine, and have kept visiting this DLOG (read Dead bLOG:D) expecting to find some worthwile time pass! Also, I'd like to thank one particular lady whose ominous messages about sending some goons over to my place if I didn't resume blogging made it a do-or-die situation for me ;)! The point is, whether you like it or not, I'm back!!
So what have I been upto?! A lot, actually! First and foremost, I'm no longer unemployed! Got placed in Infosys, but it was not a cakewalk! Had to face 2 rejections before the Infy test and that was one helluva depressing time! The summer research internship which I was crying about is finally near completion and a IEEE paper can be expected out of all the hardwork we put in! I wasn't able to visit my parents and sister thanks to a jam-packed schedule, but finally managed to take some time out for the same! So what if for just a single week?! I'm not complaining! Started off by getting screwed pretty bad in the mock CAT (Common Admission Test to the prestigious IIMs) exams and have come a long way since then, and at present I manage to score a respectable score at which, I can assure myself, no one will sneer! The only problems with the mocks that I'm confronting time and again are the pretty chicks who appear for the exams and ensure that you remain distracted throughout the duration of the paper, concentrating more on them rather than on trying to clear the cut-offs! Probably the lowest point in my mock taking history was today when half-an-hour into the paper, my stomach got upset and I wasted 7 precious minutes of valuable exam time in the loo!! What can I say... another "good" experience?! Just recently, appeared for one of IBM's certification exams and managed to get selected!
And just found out that for her English preliminary exam, my sister was searching for a presonality on whom to write the essay, "The person I admire the most", when she decidedly told my mom that I would be the personality she's going to write about! Bless her little soul! Probably writing about me wouldn't fetch her as many marks as writing about Gandhi or Nehru (or anyone else for that matter) would, but... In the words of J.D. Salinger of "Catcher in the Rye" fame, "Kids!! They kill you! They really do!".
Quite an egotistic post, with lots of I's and mes, don't you think so?! But what the heck! That's probably because this is my first post after a long, long time! Not to mention the writer's block phase that I'm going through! Promise a better treat next time! Till then, it'll be fun visiting everyone else's blogs and finding lots of stuff to read and comment on! Oh yeah! Feels good to be back in action!
So what have I been upto?! A lot, actually! First and foremost, I'm no longer unemployed! Got placed in Infosys, but it was not a cakewalk! Had to face 2 rejections before the Infy test and that was one helluva depressing time! The summer research internship which I was crying about is finally near completion and a IEEE paper can be expected out of all the hardwork we put in! I wasn't able to visit my parents and sister thanks to a jam-packed schedule, but finally managed to take some time out for the same! So what if for just a single week?! I'm not complaining! Started off by getting screwed pretty bad in the mock CAT (Common Admission Test to the prestigious IIMs) exams and have come a long way since then, and at present I manage to score a respectable score at which, I can assure myself, no one will sneer! The only problems with the mocks that I'm confronting time and again are the pretty chicks who appear for the exams and ensure that you remain distracted throughout the duration of the paper, concentrating more on them rather than on trying to clear the cut-offs! Probably the lowest point in my mock taking history was today when half-an-hour into the paper, my stomach got upset and I wasted 7 precious minutes of valuable exam time in the loo!! What can I say... another "good" experience?! Just recently, appeared for one of IBM's certification exams and managed to get selected!
And just found out that for her English preliminary exam, my sister was searching for a presonality on whom to write the essay, "The person I admire the most", when she decidedly told my mom that I would be the personality she's going to write about! Bless her little soul! Probably writing about me wouldn't fetch her as many marks as writing about Gandhi or Nehru (or anyone else for that matter) would, but... In the words of J.D. Salinger of "Catcher in the Rye" fame, "Kids!! They kill you! They really do!".
Quite an egotistic post, with lots of I's and mes, don't you think so?! But what the heck! That's probably because this is my first post after a long, long time! Not to mention the writer's block phase that I'm going through! Promise a better treat next time! Till then, it'll be fun visiting everyone else's blogs and finding lots of stuff to read and comment on! Oh yeah! Feels good to be back in action!
