One day , the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip , the father asked his son , "How was the trip?"
"It was great , Dad."
"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.
"Oh yeah , " said the son.
"So , tell me , what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.
The son answered:
"I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.
Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.
We have servants who serve us , but they serve others.
We buy our food , but they grow theirs.
We have walls around our property to protect us , they have friends to protect them."
The boy's father was speechless.
Then his son added , "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are."
Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.
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Pets are welcome but children must be leashed at all times
Always nice to put a face to a name Jon. Makes you feel like you actually converse with the person.
I agree with the sentiments here. We are very priviledged
Ma
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Guru & Ma Ulladulla NSW Happy day, safe travelling Ford Ranger towing 21ft Jurgen shower and toilet which was large enough to fit in a few extras (fridge, bed, stove...)
I could show my face here too. We are all older people who have seen everything and there are no kids to scare. I'll look for one and post it or change my avitar
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Daisy and Disco Duck
Adelaide South Australia
Gotta Think Outside the Square!
Now that food has replaced sex in my life, I can't even get into my own pants.
If at First You Don't Succeed.......Redefine Success !!
Magic. If we lived by this what a great place world this would be.There are so many nice people on this forum. I love reading their posts every day and some of them nearly make me cry,Genuine people enjoying life Happy safe travels to all Chris and Robbie
Today I watched a house burn down just behind the caravan park. By the time anyone raised the alarm it was too late and all the firies could do was put it out. No one knows if there was anyone in it or how it started. It's now a crime scene until the questions are answered. All I could think of what the occupants would find when they got home. No matter who they are, they've lost everything. I still have my alluminium box with staples. I had a similar experience when I lived in Streaky Bay. But the town saved my furniture while I was visiting friends in Ceduna for the weekend. Another lucky ending. I also wrote a little car off today. Distracted by a group of people around a car on the side of the road behind a semi, I looked up and there was a little red car waiting to do a right turn. With brakes locked I slid to a halt in his back seat. Now he was a young man, a very forgiving and caring young man. He fortunately wasn't hurt, and I don't think I was, although the back is a bit worse than usual tonight. My Landcruiser is pretty much untouched and the Smart Bar did a great job. But that hard-working young Optomitrist doesn't have a car because I turned his little red car into a smaller red car. My insurance company has been very helpful. Should I be thankful? Well I am. He wasn't hurt, I wasn't really hurt - we both survived, and vehicles can be fixed or replaced. I go so sleep tonight, thankful for what I have, not resentful for what I have not. With a handle on reality I say, Cheers Chris
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20ft Roma caravan - Mercedes Benz Sprinter - SA-based at the moment. Transport has no borders.
Management makes the decisions, but is not affected by the decisions it makes.
The main thing is that neither of you were hurt. Like you say cars can be fixed. Maybe a little of the "rum" you spoke about someplace earlier would be the tonic at the moment.
If there is anything any of us can do for you just HOLLA
Ma
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Guru & Ma Ulladulla NSW Happy day, safe travelling Ford Ranger towing 21ft Jurgen shower and toilet which was large enough to fit in a few extras (fridge, bed, stove...)
Hope you are feeling ok this morning Chris and the back is not too sore. These sort of things just happen so quick ,we just don't know one minute from another Take care Chris and Robbie
Thanks for you concern everyone. We are both ok. I spoke to the young fella this morning. My Landcruiser sustained minor damage to the front end thanks to the Smart Bar which appears to have taken 90% of the impact. I don't think I'd be driving Rosy now if I'd had an alloy or steel bull bar. It really is amazing
main thing is nobody got hurt, cars are easily replaced
as a firey in the ash wednesday fires a few years ago we had to make decisions on an hourly basis on what we could defend and what was to be left undefended, it was a "hit and run" excercise constantly
it was terrible to turn our backs on a lifetime of work by a family and tell them we wont leave an appliance at their house only for them to watch it be destroyed
then to listen to the screams of the owners as their house went up, a lot of times with animals and livestock still on the property, in many cases we had to physically remove and restrain the occupants, or they would have been lost as well, i still have flashbacks to it now many years later
when we were chasing "flareups" in the following days we would see these poor souls sifting through the ashes trying to find anything that survived the inferno, the strangest of things were held in high regard, you have a box of staples, some found a doll, others a pot plant, they then would treasure that one little item for the rest of their lives
brought us to our knees on many occasions, tough fireys, yeah pigs bloody backside, seen many a big man go down in those times
the only solice I and many others in my position have is that we saved a lot more houses than we lost, but we still wish we could have done more
so when you say you watched a house go up and not be able to help then I and many others know exactly what you are talking about, not a nice feeling to be so helpless, but one that you have to let go of or else trouble will find you
I'm glad that no-one was seriously hurt. I found myself in a similar situation just 6 weeks ago .. so I do understand how it feels !
On my part it was due to lethargy .. just feeling too comfortable driving and not even considering that an accident could occur.
Stopping at a "turn left with care" sign at an intersection behind another vehicle .. the vehicle in front proceeded to move off .. I checked the traffic coming from the right and moved off !
ooops ! .. I hadn't seen that the car in front of me had stopped again .. a low speed hit up into the boot of an older car caused damage from my nudge bar .. my Subaru Forester was unscratched ..
All parties were ok but a little shaken .. and it spoiled a clean driving record ..
In my case, it was a 'wake-up' call to switch-on ..
