MONEY MATTERS - AND HOW!

 
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I have never been clued up on Money Matters, maybe because, when we, my sisters and I, were growing up in an Army family, there was never enough money to spread over the entire month. By the 15^th, my Army Dad and my teacher Mom would have exhausted their respective kitties. However, never once did we three girls feel the pinch. We had Parvathy Amma, a grand old lady (of course, she was young once), who made an appearance when I was six months old, and left for her heavenly abode almost three decades later. She was a true asset in our lives, for she had magic in her fingers – every dish she made was MasterChef-worthy and the way she made a limited amount of money last made her a financial wizard.

Many were the meals friends and family came over for. The table would groan under the weight of Parvathy Amma’s delicacies, and how she did it single-handedly was a   miracle.

                                     

                                                                            Magnific

All that we children saw was the largesse, never the drought. Our home was open to all, and my parents were folks who would give their last penny away, if required. Money did not raise its head all through our childhood. We believed that it probably grew on trees. The only savings that mattered to us were the coins that we thrust into our piggy banks, which made us feel rich indeed. 

                                                                  Pixabay

And yes, we were rich in all the things that mattered – we had a beautiful life and a loving family, doctored with dollops of discipline and decorum dished out, myriad friends and birthday parties, and roti, kapda and Army makaans. What more did we need?

So, we ‘growed and growed’ as Topsy remarked in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Fixed deposits came and stayed, current accounts stayed current and the Post Office helped us accrue interests and Tupperware gifts. Cheques were not supposed to bounce (how could they behave so childishly!), pass books were stashed away with the family jewellery and heirlooms in lockers, and God forbid if cheques were not crossed. A PPF fund was started in the State Bank, and if we did not put in regular amounts, they would send us reminders sounding very cross indeed!

       IndMoney                       

Those were the days when I did two things with great alacrity – teach in different schools, (by now I was married into the Army!) and write articles and short stories. I received cheques for both, the amounts of which were smaller than the immense pleasure I received out of receiving them. I would painstakingly put down the cheque numbers and the amounts in a weatherbeaten diary, going over them once in a blue moon. These amounts went straight into my account and remained untouched as I had one principle that I shared with my sceptical better half – Your money is my money, and my money is my money! I still wonder why it took me time to convince him of that!

Today, money matters have taken on different avatars across the country. G Pay and UPI have made physical wallets obsolete. Even a groundnut seller roasting hot groundnuts in his cart (how can one not think of that delectable aroma!) has G Pay. All one needs is a smart phone and money in one’s account. The rumour is that pickpockets have gone out of business.

                                                              Alamy

Hence, here I am, older and wiser, having got better at money matters for the sole reason of having a husband who is a whiz kid at them. At the click of a button, one finds a stream of delivery boys (and girls) streaming up our stairs – Flipcart, Google, Instamart, Blinkit and Jio. These folks work from dawn to midnight, come hail, rain or sunshine, and are quicker than the proverbial hare.

Gone are the days when ‘bonds’ meant fetters, and SIPs came in juice bottles. Thanks to the afore mentioned whiz kid, we possess both, and a bit of a toehold in the share market as well, albeit a well-controlled one as we have heard gory tales of people having gone bankrupt because they threw themselves, heart, souls and wallet, into shares.

Old timers always had cautionary tales up their sleeve, which ended with the following quotes. “Save up for a rainy day.” “Do not put all your eggs in one basket.” “Cut your coat according to your cloth.” Money comes and money goes; the trick is to keep it growing instead of going.

                                                            iStock Photo

In a nutshell, let us live life to the fullest, keep our money growing and be content with what we have for comparisons are odious, as one wise soul said. The grass on the other side may be greener, but it is better not to let the green-eyed monster take us prisoner.

As Richard Armour put it, “That money talks I’ll not deny. I heard it once. It said Goodbye.”

                                      Goodbye Money Cartoon - Magnific

This post is a part of Bachat & Beyond Blog Hop hosted by Sukaina Majeed and Manali Desai under the #EveryConversationMatters Blog Hop Series powered by authors Suruchi Hirawat and Harsh Soni.

SHOLAY – A MOVIE THAT CAN NEVER BE ECLIPSED!

 
Bollywood Movie Posters

If there was a movie that encapsulated every emotion under the sun and ticked every box, it was Sholay, the blockbuster, by Ramesh Sippy that burst on the horizon in 1975 with absolutely no warning. The first time I watched it, I was rather young, but I still remember that it evoked emotions within me that very few other movies have. The impact was so powerful that today, I write this article out of memory.

                                                                          Facebook

Sholay had everything – excitement, humour, romance, violence, pathos, tragedy, exemplary acting, brilliant music, unbeatable direction and cinematography; in short, it was like delving into a treasure trove and coming out with rare gems every single time.

The excitement begins when the two thieves, Jai and Veeru, are taken to the Thakur’s mansion at Ramgarh, a mansion as majestic as the taciturn shawl-clad Thakur himself. As the saga of Gabbar Singh unfolds, the viewers feel the tempo of their heartbeats go up in anticipation. The eerie silence that exemplifies the village night, the dimness all around, the tenderness of the mouth organ that seeps into the heart of the bereft young widow as she puts on the lights on the veranda, aware of a young man’s brooding gaze upon her, these are unforgettable moments. It is recorded that that one scene took three years to shoot.

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Romance wafts in, in the form of the talkative Basanti, the tongawali, whose charm and beauty win over Veeru’s susceptible heart. . How can one forget the one-liner with which Jai stems her chatter?

“Tumhara naam kya hain, Basanti?”

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On the other side is the silent attraction that Jai and Radha share, unspoken except through their eyes, quieter moments that cause the pulse to settle down, moments that engender hope.

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Humour plays a huge role, coming in at expected moments to lighten the intensity and the violence that make up a large part of the narrative, be it is Jai’s tongue-in-cheek comments as he describes his friend Veeru’s qualities in absolutely unflattering terms to a horrified Mausiji, Basanti’s old aunt. Jai’s words destroy any hope of Mausiji letting Veeru anywhere near her niece, and it is left to Veeru to stage a drunken rant atop a water tanker, where he threatens to commit suicide, which will send Mausiji to prison. The rant ends with the amusing “Budiya going jail – budiya chakki peesing and peesing!”

                                                                    The Times of India

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Who can forget Asrani’s role where he marches in proclaiming, “Main Angrezon ki zamane ka jailor hun!” his Hitler moustache twitching as he gives comical orders and almost falls over his polished boots. A brilliant cameo, only rivalled by Surma Bhopali, a villager who boasts of how he has turned in the notorious Jai and Veeru over to the police, and the moment his bravado vanished as Jai corners him!

Asrani, the comic jailor - Facebook

Jagdeep as Soorma Bhopali - Facebook

The village of Ramgarh has always been beset by dacoits, and the very name of Gabbar wreaks fear in every heart. There is anticipation in the air as well as terror. However, Gabbar Singh’s opening scene is a masterclass of suspense, that begins with his boots treading on the rocks as three men cower in fear. His raspy voice, his olive-green uniform and his unshaven face with its characteristic grin, all send a shiver through the spine.

                                                      Gabbar Singh - the best villain ever! 

     Instagram

“Arey O Sambha, kitne aadmi the?” The words, simple, yet menacing.

                                                          Arrey O Sambha...  Facebook

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The scene moves onto its denouement, as one of the men quavers,

“Sarkar, humne aapke namak khaya hain.” Gabbar’s reply is momentous.

“Ab goli kha!” Gunshots in unison and three men lie dead. A dreadful lesson taught and learnt! Gabbar’s name needs to evoke fear.

The enmity is between the Thakur, an ex-police officer and the dreaded dacoit, Gabbar. It begins when the officer apprehends Gabbar and imprisons him. However, wily as he is, Gabbar escapes from the jail.

One of the scenes that is heartrending is the way the officer’s whole family is massacred. There is no overt violence, just silence, and gunshots as one by one, they are picked off, their bodies falling in slow motion. A clothesline collapsing, a man tumbling down the hill, women murdered in cold blood and saddest of all, a little boy near a swing that creaks, his eyes widening as he realises that he is going to be shot. The terror and the sadness are all too palpable, and when the officer comes back, the chilling silence continues, as he sees the bodies lying under white sheets, the only survivor his daughter-in-law, Radha, who is now a widow.

Sholay continues to throw twist after twist, but the one that really hits hard is when the dacoits attack Ramgarh, and after they have been chased away by Jai and Veeru after a hard fight, the latter accuses the Thakur of not having lifted a finger to help them, only to realise the poignant reason why he did not do so. That was truly a heartrending moment.

The cinematography and camera work are awe inspiring. The grandeur of the ravines, the starkness of the terrain, the silhouettes of the dacoits against the sky, the rumbling of the train, the gaiety of Holi, the festival of colours, cut short by the appearance of the dreaded dacoits, the panorama of the imaginary village of Ramgarh – every detail worked on painstakingly. The final scene when the Thakur overcomes Gabbar using nail-studded shoes is truly climactic.

                                                                              Sholayism

In 2007, Ram Gopal Varma made a huge blunder in trying to recreate Sholay with a movie unimaginatively dubbed Ram Gopal Varma ki Aag, a fire that was doused by the box office and has the dubious distinction of being called one of the worst films ever made. Even Amitabh Bachchan playing the role of Gabbar could not save the film from flopping. None of the characters came up to even a quarter of the level of their predecessors who were all thespians in their own right.

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Sequels should never be made, and this is totally my own opinion. They not only take away from the original, but also do themselves no good. Comparisons are odious, but they will be made. It is a risk not worth taking, again my opinion!

The background scores of Sholay still play in my heart and mind – the opening score, the wonderfully apt songs – the unforgettable Mehbooba, Mehbooba picturised on the absolutely delightful Helen and a dapper Jalal Agha, was a showstopper.

The scene where Basanti is made to dance over broken glass pieces, even as Veeru pleads with her not to dance before ‘inn kutthon’ (these dogs) is still deeply etched in my mind. 

                                                                                  Shazam

 Yeh Dosti remains a paean to friendship everywhere, and the lilting number ensured the record sale of sidecars on motorbikes. Yet, at the end, when Jai sends Veeru away, after a rigged coin toss, and succumbs to the bullets of the dacoits, the same song brings tears later as Veeru weeps over Jai’s body. I cried buckets, deeply affected by the scene, the song and the towering persona of Amitabh Bachchan.

Yeh dosti - Facebook

There will never be another Sholay, a movie so well made, every character making a dent in the hearts of viewers because of the amazing script penned by Salim-Javed, the deft direction of Ramesh Sippy and produced by G.P. Sippy. The fabulous music score was by R.D. Burman. After a slow run initially, it took over the box office everywhere and ran for five years at Minerva theatre, Mumbai. It continued to be the highest grossing movie till it was taken over by Hum Aapke Hain Kaun in 1994.

Today, when I think back on why Sholay was the blockbuster it was, maybe it is because, while the heroes (all three of them, including the Thakur) were impressive, Gabbar Singh played the villain with great aplomb and showmanship. I believe that that was what truly made Sholay great, the brilliant interplay between black and white, heroism and villainy, and good and evil.

 
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This post is a part of ‘Pass The Popcorn Blog Hop’ hosted by Manali Desai and Sukaina Majeed and sponsored by Jaico Publishing House under #EveryConversationMatters blog hop series, powered by authors Sourabh Mukherjee and Puja Mukherjee Khattri.

ANGRY JUNGLEE BOSSES BY CROSS

 
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What ensues whenCOVID-19 wipes out the entire human race and animals take over the world? Angry Junglee Bosses by Cross (Gaurav Rao) tells you just that. It is an allegorical novel that is faintly reminiscent of Orwell’s Animal Farm. The bright red cover image with a dapper Fox winking at the reader catches the attention at once, rousing curiosity in the contents of the book.

The shrewd Fox, armed with his exuberant inner Fox, is surely the perfect protagonist for this book. His business degree aids him to walk into his first job at We Feed Ya as a sales representative. Fox had never envisioned himself as an employee, which he felt was a “never acknowledged form of slavery” almost as good as serving jail time.

From the start, the façade of the corporate world comes into play, with offices on different levels atop a tall broad tree, a reception area, meeting rooms replete with framed, garlanded photographs of the Great Bat that infected humans with the virus. “The Age of the Animals came with the extinction of the humans.”

Multi-lingual and well-travelled, Fox is initially impressed by the facilities in his new workplace – hollow bamboo pipes for communication, the Bugged Lines that connect the vast jungle, the bustling cafeteria, the fascinating descriptions of animals used for agriculture according to their strengths, and the seemingly efficient running of the office. He meets his bosses and his colleagues and puts his acumen to work at once, multi-tasking to meet his deadlines.

The first bosses he meets reinforce his urge to prove himself – the understanding Bison, the friendly and helpful Himalayan Bear, the elderly African Elephant and the mature white Liger, with whom he shares a rapport.

However, Fox’s expectations come crashing down as delays stall his tasks, forcing him to burn the candle at both ends. One bone of contention is that he does not wear the dirty yellow uniform shirt. His biggest disappointment comes when he realises the duplicity of the other animals who have the power to make his life uncomfortable – Hippopotamus, Gharial, Hyena and above all, the obnoxious Sheep.

How does Fox handle the situation? Is he able to stem the rot in the system and contain the rumours that surround him? These and other questions are answered in great detail by the author, whose imagination certainly runs riot, albeit in a good way. One can only marvel at the time he must have spent to create punny alternatives to our human rockstars, litterateurs and classic books, many of which were hilarious. To quote just a few – ‘Tom Hangs’ in ‘Forest Bump’, ‘Sir Sean Canary’, ‘Pythanne Hathaway’, ‘Brad Pigg’ and the like.

The list of songbirds brought a further smile to my face – ‘Alisha Chinchilla’, ‘Ducky Ali’, ‘Enrique Eaglesias’ and ‘Brayin Adams’. There are myriad other references, a testament to author Gaurav Rao’s unstinting research and undoubted sense of humour, as the glossary at the end of the book reveals.

While I did enjoy the idea behind the book and the satire that imbues its narrative, there were pages of intricate details, and repetitive dialogues, which somehow brought the tempo down. For a person who is not from the corporate world, the jargon does become heavy after a while. A round of editing would have elevated this book to a different level altogether. However, that does not take away from the fact that this is an amazing read from a debut author who believes in the adage that writing is meant to hold up a mirror to society.

PS: I received a copy of the book from the author as a prize for the ‘Beyond the Desk Blog Hop’ by Manali Desai and Sukaina Majeed.

#AngryJungleeBosses #satire #interestingread #debutnovel #humour

Book Title: Angry Junglee Bosses

Author: Gaurav Rao

Publishers: Jain Book Agency

Cover: Anze Ban Virant

LOVE AT FIRST BYTE - DIVYA RAMASWAMY - BOOK REVIEW

 
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One closes the last page of Divya Ramaswamy's Love at First Byte with a smile at a tale well told. The book revolves around the twenty-year-old Annika, who claims to be an introvert at the very beginning. However, her sense of humour, and her joie-de-vivre, keep the readers wondering what she is going to do next.

The book is set in Hyderabad, takes a short detour to Dubai, and then settles down in Hyderabad again. Annika has an amazing bond with her parents and sibling, and takes digs at them with good humour.

"...Annika, a surprisingly modern name, considering some of the short-listed choices my Mom had scarred me with during my childhood."

The characters who revolve around Annika are also noteworthy, be it the temperamental Riva, the amazing trio of Kabir, Kriti and Maggie, and of course, her affable yet efficient boss, Kevin, who is a true mentor to her. The author brings them alive with their endearing quirks and reveals the bonhomie which tethers them.

The book is an odyssey across Annika's budding career in a start up company, Bubble, and brings out the ups and downs young professionals encounter, the relationships created, the camaraderie, and of course, the disruptions in the form of unpleasant colleagues and bosses, amusingly given monikers like 'Baby Faced Monster' and her pet allergy 'Mokshitis'.

Annika, who terms herself "blissfully technology unaware" grows through "the crazy spikes and troughs" of business, and proves herself by burning the midnight oil, finally turning into a team lead, doing it all with aplomb.

The love interests, in the form of the captivating Veer and the magnetic pony-tailed Kiaan, both of whom pique Annika's romantic interest, keep the readers guessing for three quarters of the book.

The story kicks off and ends with violins and tulips, an indication of romance in the air, despite all the upheaval. Divya Ramaswamy has created an office ambience that is enviable. Annika's love for life and her determination to never say die keep the rhythm going with the interest never flagging.

What I particularly enjoyed, apart from the author's breezy style of writing, were the nuggets of humour strewn through the narrative, lighting it up at intervals. For example -

House hunting in Hyderabad got hectic after Annika's parents; ultimatum - 

"We can find an aunt or a fourth cousin there that you could stay with." A familiar scenario!

The description of Brian Day or the Baby Faced Monster (BFM) - "a chap going off like a rocket launcher with excess fuel" and the description of Annika's shopping spree with trolleys at the supermarket - "The pesky creatures and I still hadn't managed to reach an agreement on how to tackle our combined lack of coordination."

Who said that it was not right to judge a book by its cover? The well-conceived, eye-catching pink cover with its fun images portray exactly what the book contains within, and its tone as well.

I enjoyed this read, mainly because it was engaging without once turning mundane. The characters were real and the relationships strong and believable. The protagonist's personality shone forth, and in the process, made the book shine as well. The author's corporate experience has obviously played a stellar role in making the narrative in the book authentic. 

Book Title: Love at First Byte

Author: Divya Ramaswamy

Publisher: Vishwakarma Publications

Book Cover: The Book Bakers

#corporatelife #romance #humour

 I received this book as a prize for the Beyond the Desk Blog Hop by Manali Desai and Sukaaina Majeed.

THE SIMPLEST GUIDE TO RELIGION – UNDERSTANDING HUMANITY’S SEARCH FOR THE SACRED BY TOMICHAN MATHEIKAL - BOOK REVIEW

 
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“There is something eternal in religion.” Emile Durkheim

Author Tomichan Matheikal’s book titled ‘The Simplest Guide to Religion’ is a detailed yet interesting treatise on the history of religion, how it first began and evolved. The story of religion throughout the book is one of transformation over the centuries. At the beginning, gods emerged from human myth and imagination, as men sought answers from a seemingly indifferent world. Religion came across “as a profoundly human response to the unbearable weight of existence.”

Early humans gazed upon the world with fear and awe. “Religion grows where fear asks for protection and wonder asks for reverence.”

Before religion, humans saw the universe as “a community of living presences.” Animism and nature worship came into being almost naturally, propagating the power of trees and groves, animals with souls and ancestral spirits who cast an influence over the living. “The sacred was woven into ordinary living.”

The author provides apt examples, peppering the narrative with them to strengthen his arguments. For instance, the ’living dead’ of Tana Toraja (Indonesia) and the Famadihana (Madagascar) dwell on ancestor worship and its fascinating allied rituals. Scottish anthropologist, James George Frazier, believed that human thought evolved through three stages – magic, religion and science, connected in various ways, influencing one another.

There is no doubt that Tomichan Matheikal has spent copious hours researching on the myriad aspects of religion, from its earliest emergence to its avatar in the modern era. Monotheism (the idea of a single supreme divine authority) and polytheism (a crowded heaven populated with many gods) have both been well expounded, replete with examples from ancient civilizations and societies.

From that point, it is a seamless progression to the way in which myths and oral traditions grew into scripture, giving religion a formal shape. However, when scripture went through a process of over thinking and emphasising, it slowly deteriorated into orthodoxy and inflexibility. From there on, it was only one step away from heresy, which was a retrograde step, mentioned for the sake of historical correctness.

The author moves on to expound on how the religion of yore turned gradually into a discussion of rational enquiry in the times of Greek philosophers like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. 

                                  Socrates, Plato and Aristotle - Wikimedia Commons

The Middle Ages perceived the rise of Scholasticism where Christian doctrine blended with logic and reason through systematic analysis. The author speaks of, apart from others, Adi Shankaracharya and Ramanuja, Indian philosophers who saw religion as a blend of reason and spirituality, and also a disciplined spiritual path towards God.

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The period of Enlightenment shone forth as numerous thinkers came forward to expound on their version of religion, rationalism and truth – Rene Descartes – (I think, therefore I am!), Baruch Spinoza who identified God with Nature, John Locke, David Hume and Voltaire who fiercely criticised institutions that used religion to suppress freedom and enquiry.

Immanuel Kant chose the middle path between faith and scepticism. Karl Marx and Max Weber perceived religion as ideology and a historical influence from acceptance to critical investigation. By the 20^th century, religion had metamorphosed and the history of religion had adapted, transformed and survived. Darwin spoke of evolution, and Nietzsche of the mortality of God. “Humanity was now creating new values rather than inheriting old ones.”

                                                                     Unsplash

Why did religion survive? Maybe because humanity still needed its indispensable social functions and rituals to reinforce their cultural values. As the author puts it so aptly, “The sacred has not vanished; it has taken new forms.”

New gods have arisen in a godless world. Fundamentalism which severs the world into insiders and outsiders, Nationalism which serves as a cementing force, political religions like Communism and Fascism. Even more recent are the Eastern spiritual traditions like the practice of Buddhism, Hindu philosophy, yoga, meditation and new age spirituality which promise personal growth and self-transformation.

                                                       New Age Spirituality - Unsplash

Of course, the latest gurus are the celebrities – actors, musicians, influencers and public figures who are idolised like deities. Consumer capitalism rules as people have put their faith in acquisition and consumerism. There is a separate tribe that exhibits profound and moral concerns for the world around them, following the concept of Environmentalism which ironically harks back to the ancient concept of Nature as sacred. 

When I finished reading Tomichan Matheikal’s book, I could only marvel at the immense fount of knowledge that he has put out into the world. This is an opus that must have taken hours of perusal and research. His language is simple, and his style lucid and interesting. Apart from references from ancient texts like the Rig Veda and the Bible, the book is peppered with apt quotes from great minds like Albert Einstein, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Chief Seattle, Immanuel Kant and the like.  

As the author himself proclaims, he turned from agnostic to admirer, may I dare say, of the myriad chapters that strove to glean meaning in a seemingly indifferent world, and “order amid chaos, community amid isolation and hope amid suffering.”

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Chief Seattle’s wonderful quote says it all.

“All things share the same breath beneath – the beast, the tree, the man… the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports.” If this simple truth were realised, men would probably not fight over religion, which, in itself, could be a force that binds and not one that divides.

Queen of Treasures website: The Author with his Book 

The eBook link of the book is https://tinyurl.com/4e3ewje4. The book is also available on Kindle Unlimited.

THE BALANCING ACT

 
Image by supervalouf from Pixabay

Have you had days when hours hang heavy in a long-linked chain?

You gaze in frustration at the unmoving clock hands in vain?

The day drags on relentlessly, the work piles never end,

Of late, do you feel that has become the trend?

I smile thinking of our younger days of abandon and fun,

Just the two of us – exuberant, romantic, needing no one;

Keeping house was exciting, buying new things a game,

Love bloomed around us like the perfect picture frame.

                                                                        Unsplash

Then arrived a tiny gift, a baby girl so sweet and fragile,

Chubby cheeks, rosebud fingers, translucent nails to beguile,

Our little daughter, apple of our eye, kept us up all night,

Yet holding her fragrant and close made us feel just right.

                                                                          Magnific

Young parents were we, strapped of cash many a time,

My partner slogged it out as though rest were a crime;

Our rosebud grew, we grew with her – life remained the same,

She started school, and so did I – a teacher I became!

Work was often tough, but the three of us made it work;

Our precious time with our rosebud we never did shirk,

Insidiously the work hours encroached on our personal time,

As we desperately strove to reach home before the clock did chime.

The wonder years flew by, she was soon a young lass,

Brimming with self-confidence, optimism and sass;

College, graduation, a job, and then true love found her,

The hourglass shifted sand, time for her to move on further!

Now I had all the time in the world that I did not need,

My partner still worked long hours, I decided to follow his lead,

I filled my diaries with countless words, as I wrote reams,

A good way to drive away loneliness, to ignite my dreams.

                                                                        Unsplash

On certain nights I was so drained I would a siesta take,

Before my husband got home; our beautiful dog would stay awake,

Exhausted after the never-ending commute, his eyes too would close,

Another day gone by; however, it was the life we chose.

The grandchildren arrived, time for my husband to retire,

PNGEgg

It was time for me to work full time; I was happy and all wired!

The tables turned, life changed and both our roles reversed

I burnt the midnight oil, in a role in which I was well-versed.

Now he waited patiently for me, as I had done for so long,

While he understood, there was times when things went wrong;

We tiptoed about on eggshells, often tempers frayed,

Suddenly the years had flown by; we had both greyed!

                                                                   PNGTree

The one fine day, a light bulb flashed; realization struck,

There was no more time to pass the buck,

Time and tide wait for no one, there was no doubt,

Finally, it is Destiny that does wield the clout.

I cut back on my work though I loved it so,

We would spend our lives together, and maybe just go

On a trip to sunny Greece, or travel to the beach,

Go to the ends of the earth as far as we could reach!

                                                                   123RF

The joy of living returned, as did the adventures,

“Thank God,” he joked, “We’re doing this before dentures!”

The next moment we had embarked on a long lazy cruise,

The best way we knew to frighten away the blues!

So here we are both, with good advice to dole,

Spending precious time, hand in hand, is now our goal;

To grasp every nettle before time runs out,

And climb every mountain before we have gout!

 
Etsy

  This post is  a part of Beyond the Desk Blog Hop hosted by Manali Desai and Sukaina Majeed under #EveryConversationMatters.