@curious_edline Precious grandpa! My maternal grandpa died at 102, this August, he would've been 104. He was blessed to see 5 generations in his lifetime. He walked, read and followed a strict eating time. Bless his soul. Your granddad is one of the blessed few to pass 100 & still independent.
I was at the motor park on this same day last year when I saw a small boy of about 8 years old sitting on the ground. He was not begging. He was just holding a dirty, torn paper and a pencil, trying to write 1 + 1 = 2.
A woman selling food shouted at him to leave her front and even threw dirty water near his feet. The boy did not cry. He just moved quietly to sit under a leaking roof to continue his writing. My heart pained me. I went to give him money for food, but his eyes stopped me. He looked so hungry. I asked him why he was not in school.
He told me his mother died the previous year and his uncle brought him to the city to go to school. But since he arrived, he only washes cars and sweeps while his uncle’s children go to school. He showed me his back and I saw a big wound from a hot iron his uncle’s wife used on him because a plate broke while he was washing it. He ran away three days ago and was sleeping in the park, hoping to find a bus to his village even though he has nobody there.
I looked at my fine clothes and felt ashamed. I work as a secretary. I was on my way to work but I did not continue the journey. I held his hand and told him not to cry. I told him that from that day, he was not going back to that house and he was not going to the village. I have decided to adopt him as my own son.
Today makes exactly a year he has been with me. He has a new school bag and a clean uniform. He eats good food and nobody will ever burn him again. I remembered going through the same treatment many years ago, when my aunt brought me to Lagos to send me to school but instead she turned me into her house girl and treated me like trash before God sent a good Samaritan my way who helped sponsor my education. Today, I am the same person feeding and paying fees for her children ever since she and her husband passed away in an accident.
NB: I am not posting this to show off. I am sharing this to tell everyone to be kind to other people’s children. You don’t know who will help you tomorrow. No one knows tomorrow. 🙏🏾
A giant ship's engine broke down and no one could repair it, so they hired a Mechanical Engineer with over 30 years of experience.
He inspected the engine very carefully, from top to bottom. After seeing everything, the engineer unloaded his bag and pulled out a small hammer.
He knocked something gently. Soon, the engine came to life again. The engine has been fixed!
A week later the engineer mentioned to the ship owner that the total cost of repairing the giant ship was $20,000.
"What?!" said the owner.
"You did almost nothing. Give us a detailed bill."
The answer is simple:
Tap with a hammer: $2
Know where to knock and how much to knock: $19,998
The importance of appreciating one's expertise and experience...because those are the results of struggles, experiments and even tears.
If I do a job in 40 minutes it's because I spent 20 years learning how to do that in 20 minutes. You owe me for the years, not the minutes.
Are you with me? You get it?