Looking Back - Part 8

I happened to see a person pushing his son on a wheel chair. The son was paralyzed and had a part of the neck removed. Possibly, due to cancer. The father fed the son with something through a tube and it was a great source of pain for the poor guy. He was moaning all through the feeding and the father was so patient and was taking care of his son like anything. It was very touching and emotional. It made me wonder, how some people can be so patient. Is patience they have a result of the love for their near ones or patience that comes naturally to them. All through this, there was a strange calm at the father's face. It was disheartening and terrible.

I have heard people in India go on about how the Americans don't value families and how divorces go through. Well, I wish they would shut up for once, as they have to realize they sound like preachers who try to convert people. America is every bit conservative as any other country in the world. They also value civil liberties more than anybody in the world. They value it so much that places like Afghanistan where civil liberties were crushed, sounded like dungeon to them and they genuinely feel for the people living there. That is why the idea of liberating people of such countries sounds very romantic to an average American. But that's not my point, I am not here to bicker about such things. The point being, the father's patience arising out of the love of their near ones. I think about the things the whole family had to give up for this boy. The sacrifices made for the boy and who will take care of the boy after the family had gone. it is really scary in the times we live.

These things turn me back to the time of my youth where I had little patience to do anything. Well, I am still impatient, but I guess it is a lot better now. I guess, i have grown a bit, so a lot more patient. But occasionally, I have those brain freeze moments where I go on a rampage and hurt lots of people intentionally. Only to emerge out of that moment with lots of shame and self loathing. It always is nice to have someone who understands you at that particular moment and does not punish you for that. I have quite a few friends who have been good to me at these times. Two people come to my mind when I talk about such friends, One was in my high school and another in college.

The guy from my high school years was very patient. He did not have even one bit of anger or loathing and always had a bright smile on his face. Few people in the world have these qualities. He was a awesome friend to have by your side. Very talented in academics and was also good at talking with girls. I was average in the former and sucked at the latter. On a related side note, I still have problems with the latter, but now its just with those girls i think are pretty while strangely I can talk with every other girl. Anyway off from the tangent, naturally we were best friends during these two years. Some would say we were like Laurel and Hardy. Thankfully, this was my cheeriest part of life. I had nothing to worry about, no girl problems as it was an all boy's school and we had little to think about anything else because of the impending public examinations. Sometimes it makes you wonder if girls are the real trouble during schooling years. Anyone who has attended an all boys school will know what I am talking about.

The other guy was from college. I wouldn't exactly say he was patient, but he did not have any problems with me unlike some other people. He had no ego and was a typical Chennaiite, though he was from Tindivanam. Sometimes irritating, sometimes listening and sometimes advising me. He was the only friend I had, literally, during a ugly 6 month period in my final year. Sometimes This was the period when I had lots of brain freezes and my patience was literally low. But he was understanding of what I was going through and never punished me. As I said there was no ego in our friendship and when I apologized later when I realized what I had done, he always accepted it.

Its always good to have such people in your life. Because they form a great barrier between you and the uglier side of life. I was lucky to have these guys who did that for me but I do feel for thousands who don't and end up desolate and lost. But who determines this, noone. I think again fate or whatever name you want to call it plays a huge role in making it happen for us.