Because I can

This morning I quickly popped into the hardware store for some wood sealant (new bookcase, yay!). While I was waiting for my payment to go through a sales rep came in and started chatting to the cashiers. Her arm was in a sling and it came out that she had been in an accident.

She was waiting for oncoming traffic before making a right-turn (we drive on the left in SA) into town when someone slammed into her from behind going 160km/h(100mph) – double the speed limit at that point. His car dragged hers for over 100 metres. Her car, as she told it, cracked in half from the impact, back to front. The spare tyre (in the boot) was compressed to the shape of a rugby ball. His excuse? He was in a hurry. He even had the audacity to flash his lights at her as he approached.

She was lucky to walk away from the accident with only a torn muscle in her arm. But she cannot drive, even if she had a car, so she cannot visit clients and cannot earn an income as her work is commission-based.

Walking home from the shop I thought of another incident I heard about this weekend. A journalist I follow on Twitter was held up at gunpoint in his home with his wife and daughters on Saturday while his house was ransacked (his word). Thankfully no one was hurt, at least not physically. But the emotional trauma and lost property is a fact they have to live with now.

Both these incidents occurred because someone was selfish. In both cases innocent people, just doing their jobs and trying to live their lives as best they could, contributing their bit to the world, were hurt because someone else did not care about fair play, or compassion, or respect, but simply took what they wanted because they could.

When did our world become like this? When did it become okay to harm others simply because you can?

On Mothers

I wanted to write something for Mother’s Day today, but am finding it surprisingly hard. I think what’s giving me problems is that it’s enormously difficult to write anything that’s not a mind-numbing cliché.

So, let me keep things very simple: You wouldn’t be here today without your mum. Literally. If you don’t believe me, go make friends with a Biology teacher. He’ll explain it to you.

You also wouldn’t be the person you are today without your mother (from here onwards read ‘whoever filled the role of mother in your life’). This includes your negative traits, by the way – mothers mess up.

If you’re so lucky that your mother is still alive, give her a call today. If she’s near enough, go visit and give her a hug. Even if at this point you don’t really like her (it happens – she might even deserve it), put your own feelings aside for a day and appreciate the good that she has done. Because you are who you are because of her. And one day she’s going to be gone and then you won’t have that chance anymore.

So to all the birth mothers, stepmothers, foster mothers, adoptive mothers, godmothers and even grandmothers out there: Happy Mother’s Day. We appreciate you even if we don’t always show it. Thanks for putting up with all our nonsense.

On what happens when a spambot breaks down

Spambots. We all know and despise them. Every once in awhile we get these comments on posts that make these vague statements about how they liked our posts and then, in my experience, there’s usually a link to some sight that promises to increase traffic to your blog in exchange for a fee.

Apparently these bots also have a random message generator. I know this because one of them made a comment on my post yesterday. It made every comment that it can possibly make. At once.

Here’s just a little extract: Continue reading “On what happens when a spambot breaks down” →

On making a difference

One of the things I enjoy most about blogging is the variety of interesting people with whom you get to interact and even make friends. And I’ve never even considered the blogosphere to be a place where you could make a significant impact on the rest of the world, unless you have, like, a hundred-million followers. But there are ways to make a difference and I am lucky to have become part of such a project.

It’s called The Book Notes Project and was started by Emma from A Wordless Blogger. It’s very simple really. We leave notes in books, be they in library books, books we donate or sell second-hand, some might even try to slip a note or two into new books in bookshops (that is, if we can get past security 😀 ).

What is on these notes, you ask? Very good question. Anything positive, motivational or uplifting we can think about that will make the recipient feel better about him- or herself. Imagine feeling down in the dumps and picking up a book in the library. You flip through the pages and a note falls out, saying you’re beautiful. Won’t that be nice?

That’s what The Book Notes Project is about. We’re just doing our part to spread some joy and positivity and eradicate all the nastiness out there.

Sound like something you’d like to get involved in? Then go visit the site using the link above where you will find all the necessary info.

A few of us are also going to contribute to a weekly blog on a variety of uplifting topics. You can check out today’s post here.

Come get involved and let’s make the world a nicer place to live in for all of us.

On Missing the Point

The other day I read this post by Matthew Wright which made me think of an experience I had with the post office a few years ago.

I was expecting a package. It was an overnight counter-to-counter courier package. They’re supposed to be available by eleven o’clock, so I showed up at the post office just after eleven. The queue was quite long as the South African post office is also one of the largest banks in the country (in terms of client numbers – they don’t offer any credit facilities and all transactions are over the counter, so it’s the bank of choice for most low-income earners) and, as with any post office in the world, only two of the twelve cashier windows were staffed.

After 45 minutes of shuffling forward a bit at a time, in the process memorising all the notices and posters on the walls (this was before I had Twitter), I finally reach the counter only to be told that I cannot get my package. Continue reading “On Missing the Point” →