Ashok Chandran

God grant us this year a wider view,
So we see others’ faults through the eyes of You.
Teach us to judge not with hasty tongue,
Neither the adult … nor the young.

Give us patience and grace to endure
And a stronger faith so we feel secure.
Instead of remembering, help us forget
The irritations that caused us to fret.

Freely forgiving for some offence
And finding each day a rich recompense.
In offering a friendly, helping hand
And trying in all ways to understand;

That all of us whoever we are …
Are trying to reach an unreachable star.
For the great and small … the good and bad,
The young and old … the sad and glad

Are asking today; Is life worth living?
The answer is only in, loving and giving.
For only Love can make man kind
And Kindness of Heart brings Peace of Mind.

By giving love, we can start this year
To lift the clouds of hate and fear.

author- Helen Steiner Rice

The Basics …

Rule #1
Commit to your business. Believe in it more than anything else. If you love your work, you’ll be out there every day trying to do the best you can, and pretty soon everybody around will catch the passion from you - like a fever.

Rule #2
Share your profits with all your associates, and treat them as partners. In turn, they will treat you as a partner, and together you will all perform beyond your wildest expectations.

Rule #3
Motivate your partners. Money and ownership aren’t enough. Set high goals, encourage competition and then keep score. Make bets with outrageous payoffs.

Rule #4
Communicate everything you possibly can to your partners. The more they know, the more they’ll understand. The more they understand, the more they’ll care. Once they care, there’s no stopping them. Information is power, and the gain you get from empowering your associates more than offsets the risk of informing your competitors.

Rule #5
Appreciate everything your associates do for the business. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They’re absolutely free and worth a fortune.

Rule #6
Celebrate your success and find humour in your failures. Don’t take yourself so seriously. Loosen up and everyone around you will loosen up. Have fun and always show enthusiasm. When all else fails put on a costume and sing a silly song.

Rule #7
Listen to everyone in your company, and figure out ways to get them talking. The folks on the front line - the ones who actually talk to customers - are the only ones who really know what’s going on out there. You’d better find out what they know.

Rule #8
Exceed your customer’s expectations. If you do they’ll come back over and over. Give them what they want - and a little more. Let them know you appreciate them. Make good on all your mistakes, and don’t make excuses - apologize. Stand behind everything you do. ‘Satisfaction guaranteed’ will make all the difference.

Rule #9
Control your expenses better than your competition. This is where you can always find the competitive advantage. You can make a lot of mistakes and still recover if you run an efficient operation. Or you can be brilliant and still go out of business if you’re too inefficient.

Rule #10
Swim upstream. Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom. If everybody is doing it one way, there’s a good chance you can find your niche by going exactly in the opposite direction.

Sam Walton’s 10 Rules For Success - from Sam Walton: Made in America, My Story, co-authored by J. Huey, Doubleday.

Is Indian Business Ready for a Brave New World of Tough Corporate Governance?

Source: Knowledge@Wharton

As global business interest in India keeps growing, so does the expectation that Indian companies must play — and be seen to play — by rules that are clear to international investors. Demands have long been heard for greater transparency in the way Indian companies do business. Now, matters are about to come to a head. Ready or not, India’s public companies must meet a January 1, 2006, deadline to comply with sweeping new corporate governance standards.

The reforms, ordained by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), are laid out in amendments to Clause 49 of the companies’ listing agreement with Indian stock exchanges, a section that pertains to corporate governance. Among the requirements: More independent directors on boards and audit committees; a code of conduct for board members; a larger role for the audit committee; mandatory risk assessments and certification by the chief executive officer and chief financial officer of the effectiveness of internal accounting controls.

Sound familiar? The reason is that many of these rules have been inspired by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that was passed in the U.S. three years ago in response to governance scandals involving Enron and other companies. While U.S. executives have tended to grumble about the regulatory burden that Sarbanes-Oxley imposes on their companies, India’s governance gurus have viewed the law as a promising template for their reforms.
Many Indian companies have been phasing in the requirements through 2005. Predictably, with the deadline looming large, some companies say they are not ready yet. Virtually all the laggards are large “public sector units” — companies such as Bharat Petroleum and Steel Authority of India that are partially government-owned — according to a recent tally by The Hindu group of publications. Among their concerns is an apparent dearth of candidates qualified to be independent members of their boards. That reason — or excuse — is unlikely to buy them more time. SEBI chairman Meleveetil Damodaran has warned in public remarks that there will be no extension of the deadline, and no exceptions from compliance for any company.

Tough New Rules
What’s behind this hard-charging resolve to bring corporate governance in India in line with the latest world standards? Clearly, the demands of increasingly global capital markets provide part of the answer. In addition, though, the resolve also reflects a shrewd recognition by Indian corporate leaders that greater transparency is in their self-interest, say two Wharton management professors, Michael Useem and Harbir Singh, and Govind Iyer, the India representative of the board consultancy and executive search firm, Egon Zehnder International. The three, along with management professor Jitendra V. Singh, are scheduled to be part of a Wharton executive education program in Mumbai, India, on Jan. 4, 2006, that aims to prepare Indian directors for the new era they are about to enter.

“With the internationalization of equity investing, corporate governance reform comes along like day follows night,” says Useem. Western institutional investors such as CalPERS, the giant California state pension fund, are being drawn to India as longstanding Indian restrictions on foreign capital are being lifted and investment returns in India’s fast-growing economy appear attractive, Useem says. But these investors also are insisting on the same rigorous governance regimes they have campaigned for in their home countries.
“They can bring pressure to bear on company leaderships by selling stock, by supporting raiders, and by using the press to stigmatize poorly run or poorly performing companies. Big investors are not shy about telling directors to oust top management or face a proxy struggle to bring in a new board,” Useem adds, noting that the rewards for good governance have been revealed in several U.S. studies. “Companies with better governance show higher market valuation and better year-over-year results and are better able to withstand crises and setbacks.”

Governance at Godrej
That is a scenario familiar to Adi Godrej, chairman and managing director of Godrej Consumer Products, one of India’s largest manufacturers of personal care products such as soaps. The company has been an early and enthusiastic adopter of governance reforms, including independent directors. Six of the eight members of its board of directors are independent of the management. All four of its audit committee members are independent. Both are better ratios of independent to “executive” members than required under the new Clause 49. Other requirements, including the creation of a risk-management regime and certification of financial controls by top officers, are being put in place by a consultant, Godrej says.
“Our strong emphasis on corporate governance has helped us get high ratings on both corporate governance and shareholder value creation,” Godrej adds, citing ratings given by the Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India. “I also feel that the markets have recognized and rewarded our pioneering corporate governance initiatives.”

His company also expects a lot from its independent directors. Board memberships at Godrej and in a growing number of Indian companies, especially globally ambitious information-technology pioneers such as Infosys Technologies, are not given out as sinecures for industrialist friends of the CEO, bankers and retired generals. Board meetings at Godrej Consumer Products last for at least half a day and the company also organizes a two-day strategic meeting once a year.

“Independent directors are supposed to provide tremendous value to the company’s performance. We compensate them well and expect them to spend quality time with the company,” Godrej says. Infosys pays its directors one of the highest annual retainers in India — nearly $45,000 a year. In return, it demands a lot of its directors, including requiring them to participate in a peer review and an annual self-assessment of their contributions to the company.

Such reviews of board members’ performance are a growing trend worldwide, says Iyer of Egon Zehnder, a firm with a decade of experience in India recruiting and training directors for top domestic and multinational companies. “There is no point just hiring independents. They need to use their independence and knowledge to add value.” To that end, directors need to improve their interpersonal behavior even as they leverage their individual strengths. Iyer notes, however, that the demand for directors with financial savvy may be off the mark. “It’s more important to know what questions to ask, and a doctor or a marketing guy could ask good questions” as well as an accountant.

Godrej points out that most Indian public companies are working diligently toward implementing the revised Clause 49 by January 1. They are being helped by the Confederation of Indian Industry, a corporate association whose governance council is headed by Godrej. “Once the revised Clause 49 is implemented, we feel Indian companies will meet most sensible standards of corporate governance,” he adds, expressing concerns about the high costs being borne by U.S. companies for implementing the more extensive provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley.

Harbir Singh says that one key area in which Indian companies generally lag the best international standards is in “the amount of disclosure of strategies and priorities” to shareholders. He attributes that to a corporate culture in which Indian chief executives have greater longevity and therefore wield more influence than their Western counterparts. A shorter tenure, or at least the fear of it, encourages more accountability. Singh also cites the relative lack of influence exerted by institutional shareholders. There just aren’t that many yet.
Family Business Practices

One corporate-cultural idiosyncrasy in India is that a large proportion of Indian public companies, including Godrej, are family dominated. That can make for corporate governance calamities, as witnessed most recently in a bitter and unusually public falling out between the two Ambani brothers — Mukesh and Anil — over control of the Reliance conglomerate built by their father, Dhirubhai. Other shareholders watched as the two finally broke up the business empire, which had previously been India’s largest business group.
Iyer believes that CEOs and other top leaders at India’s family controlled firms will have to get with the program or pay the price. “In the end, their companies’ share performance is dependent on their empowering the board. If not, their companies’ value won’t grow,” he says.

But family dominance can also be a source of strength for the company, Singh points out. Management teams in these companies are likely to have closer relationships with the main equity holders in the family, and “that provides less of an agency problem in which management and shareholders have divergent interests,” he says. Adding the disclosure requirements from the American context would be a good blend, he says. “Corporate governance is really about making management more accountable to shareholders. If management’s actions are not geared to the interests of shareholders, then they must be held accountable. In the Indian context, there are many stakeholders, but the problem is how to align their interests with those of shareholders. One powerful incentive for that seems to be the growing desire of Indian companies to get access to global capital markets by gaining listings on international stock exchanges.”

Useem says “there is a kind of emergent world standard” of governance. While there are national peculiarities, such as combining the chairman and CEO functions in one person in the U.S., “there is a basic notion worldwide for good transparency; reliable reporting of financials and risks, and boards that have the independence and strength of purpose to be able to do all this.”

Developing strong governance standards means helping directors appreciate what board practices “make for good governance and great performance,” he says. “What kind of relationships do they need to develop with senior management? What contacts should they have with big investors? Should they never speak directly to investors or should they have a dialogue?” When carefully done, with the collaboration of senior management, director-investor contacts can be helpful, Useem says. Then there are the seemingly mundane but critically important skills directors, especially those on the audit or compensation committees, need to have: How to read financial statements and know the principles of incentive-based compensation.

Search for Independent Directors
And what about that alleged shortage of candidates for independent directorships? Under the new Clause 49, one-third of the board must be composed of independent members if the chairman of the board is not also an executive of the company, and half of the board membership must be independent if the chairman is an executive. According to rough estimates, just the top 500 listed companies, with an average of nine members on their boards, will need to find 2,500 new board members. They would qualify as independent only if they have no material financial relationship with the company and were not employed by the company in the previous three years.

Godrej says he is not concerned about the lack of qualified people to fill the post of independent directors. A website has been set up to recruit independent directors. The effort has been sponsored jointly by the Bombay Stock Exchange, the National Stock Exchange and the Confederation of Indian Industry. It already has identified about 3,000 candidates, Godrej says, and “more are being listed each week.”

When all is said and done, Singh says, Indian companies will have to identify their own system of corporate governance, one that is appropriate to the Indian context and takes into account the merits of their history and their experience. “They don’t necessarily need to imitate everything in the U.S.”

100 keyboard shortcuts

CTRL+C (Copy)

CTRL+X (Cut)

CTRL+V (Paste)

CTRL+Z (Undo)

DELETE (Delete)

SHIFT+DELETE (Delete the selected item permanently without placing the item
in the Recycle Bin)

CTRL while dragging an item (Copy the selected item)

CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item (Create a shortcut to the selected item)

F2 key (Rename the selected item)

CTRL+RIGHT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next
word)

CTRL+LEFT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous
word)

CTRL+DOWN ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next
paragraph)

CTRL+UP ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous
paragraph)

CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Highlight a block of text)

SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Select more than one item in a window or
on the desktop, or select text in a document)

CTRL+A (Select all)

F3 key (Search for a file or a folder)

ALT+ENTER (View the properties for the selected item)

ALT+F4 (Close the active item, or quit the active program)

ALT+ENTER (Display the properties of the selected object)

ALT+SPACEBAR (Open the shortcut menu for the active window)

CTRL+F4 (Close the active document in programs that enable you to have
multiple documents open simultaneously)

ALT+TAB (Switch between the open items)

ALT+ESC (Cycle through items in the order that they had been opened)

F6 key (Cycle through the screen elements in a window or on the desktop)

F4 key (Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer)

SHIFT+F10 (Display the shortcut menu for the selected item)

ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the System menu for the active window)

CTRL+ESC (Display the Start menu)

ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name (Display the corresponding menu)

Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu (Perform the
corresponding command)

F10 key (Activate the menu bar in the active program)

RIGHT ARROW (Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu)

LEFT ARROW (Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu)

F5 key (Update the active window)

BACKSPACE (View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer)

ESC (Cancel the current task)

SHIFT when you insert a CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive (Prevent the CD-ROM
from automatically playing)

Dialog Box Keyboard Shortcuts

CTRL+TAB (Move forward through the tabs)

CTRL+SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the tabs)

TAB (Move forward through the options)

SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the options)

ALT+Underlined letter (Perform the corresponding command or select the
corresponding option)

ENTER (Perform the command for the active option or button)

SPACEBAR (Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box)

Arrow keys (Select a button if the active option is a group of option
buttons)

F1 key (Display Help)

F4 key (Display the items in the active list)

BACKSPACE (Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save
As or Open dialog box)

m*cro$oft Natural Keyboard Shortcuts

Windows Logo (Display or hide the Start menu)

Windows Logo+BREAK (Display the System Properties dialog box)

Windows Logo+D (Display the desktop)

Windows Logo+M (Minimize all of the windows)

Windows Logo+SHIFT+M (Restore the minimized windows)

Windows Logo+E (Open My Computer)

Windows Logo+F (Search for a file or a folder)

CTRL+Windows Logo+F (Search for computers)

Windows Logo+F1 (Display Windows Help)

Windows Logo+ L (Lock the keyboard)

Windows Logo+R (Open the Run dialog box)

Windows Logo+U (Open Utility Manager)

Accessibility Keyboard Shortcuts

Right SHIFT for eight seconds (Switch FilterKeys either on or off)

Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN (Switch High Contrast either on or off)

Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK (Switch the MouseKeys either on or off)

SHIFT five times (Switch the StickyKeys either on or off)

NUM LOCK for five seconds (Switch the ToggleKeys either on or off)

Windows Logo +U (Open Utility Manager)

Windows Explorer Keyboard Shortcuts

END (Display the bottom of the active window)

HOME (Display the top of the active window)

NUM LOCK+Asterisk sign (*) (Display all of the subfolders that are under
the selected folder)

NUM LOCK+Plus sign (+) (Display the contents of the selected folder)

NUM LOCK+Minus sign (-) (Collapse the selected folder)

LEFT ARROW (Collapse the current selection if it is expanded, or select the
parent folder)

RIGHT ARROW (Display the current selection if it is collapsed, or select
the first subfolder)

Shortcut Keys for Character Map

After you double-click a character on the grid of characters, you can move
through the grid by using the keyboard shortcuts:

RIGHT ARROW (Move to the right or to the beginning of the next line)

LEFT ARROW (Move to the left or to the end of the previous line)

UP ARROW (Move up one row)

DOWN ARROW (Move down one row)

PAGE UP (Move up one screen at a time)

PAGE DOWN (Move down one screen at a time)

HOME (Move to the beginning of the line)

END (Move to the end of the line)

CTRL+HOME (Move to the first character)

CTRL+END (Move to the last character)

SPACEBAR (Switch between Enlarged and Normal mode when a character is
selected)

m*cro$oft Management Console (MMC) Main Window Keyboard Shortcuts

CTRL+O (Open a saved console)

CTRL+N (Open a new console)

CTRL+S (Save the open console)

CTRL+M (Add or remove a console item)

CTRL+W (Open a new window)

F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)

ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the MMC window menu)

ALT+F4 (Close the console)

ALT+A (Display the Action menu)

ALT+V (Display the View menu)

ALT+F (Display the File menu)

ALT+O (Display the Favorites menu)

MMC Console Window Keyboard Shortcuts

CTRL+P (Print the current page or active pane)

ALT+Minus sign (-) (Display the window menu for the active console window)

SHIFT+F10 (Display the Action shortcut menu for the selected item)

F1 key (Open the Help topic, if any, for the selected item)

F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)

CTRL+F10 (Maximize the active console window)

CTRL+F5 (Restore the active console window)

ALT+ENTER (Display the Properties dialog box, if any, for the selected
item)

F2 key (Rename the selected item)

CTRL+F4 (Close the active console window. When a console has only one
console window, this shortcut closes the console)

Remote Desktop Connection Navigation

CTRL+ALT+END (Open the m*cro$oft Windows NT Security dialog box)

ALT+PAGE UP (Switch between programs from left to right)

ALT+PAGE DOWN (Switch between programs from right to left)

ALT+INSERT (Cycle through the programs in most recently used order)

ALT+HOME (Display the Start menu)

CTRL+ALT+BREAK (Switch the client computer between a window and a full
screen)

ALT+DELETE (Display the Windows menu)

CTRL+ALT+Minus sign (-) (Place a snapshot of the active window in the
client on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality
as pressing PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)

CTRL+ALT+Plus sign (+) (Place a snapshot of the entire client window area
on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as
pressing ALT+PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)

m*cro$oft Internet Explorer Navigation

CTRL+B (Open the Organize Favorites dialog box)

CTRL+E (Open the Search bar)

CTRL+F (Start the Find utility)

CTRL+H (Open the History bar)

CTRL+I (Open the Favorites bar)

CTRL+L (Open the Open dialog box)

CTRL+N (Start another instance of the browser with the same Web address)

CTRL+O (Open the Open dialog box, the same as CTRL+L)

CTRL+P (Open the Print dialog box)

CTRL+R (Update the current Web page)

CTRL+W (Close the current window)

Honesty is the only policy when presenting to a group. However, blatantly admitting, “I don’t know”, in response to a direct question from an audience member can be disastrous. The solution is to be honest and maintain credibility at the same time. No one can know the answer to every question. It’s how the inevitable situation is handled that separates great presenters from amateurs. Study the following seven strategies and keep them in your back pocket so that you can field even the toughest questions with confidence.

1. Reflection
Repeat the question and toss it back to your audience, “Does anyone here have any experience with that?” When you allow the audience to help you, they will save you without ever realizing it. In fact, the audience will revere you because adults love to be involved and share their knowledge. After you have fielded all of the contributions, be sure to summarize and add your own ideas if any have been sparked by the interaction. Summarizing at the end helps you to maintain control and authority. Always repeat questions before answering for the same reasons.

2. I’ll Get Back to You
This is an old standard and it works well if you do three things. First, write the question down. Be conspicuous. Make sure everyone knows you are writing the question down. I go so far as to tell the audience, “I am writing this question down.” Second, tell the questioner exactly when you will get back to them. Be honest. Then do it. Can you get back to them by the end of the day? If it is an all-day program, can you get back to them after lunch? Third, be sure to get the questioner’s contact information if you don’t have it. All of these things make this strategy very powerful. It is not smoke and mirrors. It is an opportunity to go the extra mile, expand your knowledge, and impress your audience.

3. Defer to the Expert
This is a more sophisticated version of the Reflection technique. Sometimes a question is legitimately outside of your area of expertise. You may be a marketing expert and someone asks a question about the engineering aspects of a product. This is a question that requires an engineer. If there is an engineer in the room you could say, “Sally, you’re an engineer. Do you have any insights into that?” If there are no engineers in the room, state that you will confer with an engineer and get back to them. Notice I have just combined two techniques.

4. Compliment the Questioner
For this to be effective, the compliment must be sincere. Sometimes I get lulled into thinking I have seen and heard it all on a particular topic. It never fails though, someone comes out of left field with a question I have never thought of and I say, “That’s a great question. I’ve never thought about it that way. Does anyone here have any ideas on that?” (I have just combined two techniques.) When I use this strategy it is usually not a conscious decision. It’s a reaction. That’s how sincere it needs to sound. It always works when it’s sincere because audience’s love to be complimented. I might also combine this technique with I’ll Get Back to You.

5. Answer a Question with a Question
Sometimes questions are too narrow or too general to answer. Reserve the right, as the expert, to open a question up or close it down by asking a question in response. Once upon a time I was a software trainer. One day a woman asked me a very specific question, “What does that button do?” I had no idea, but I didn’t confess, “I don’t know.” Instead I asked her a question, “What is your goal in pushing that button?” She elaborated for me and explained what she wanted to accomplish. I knew a way to help her and it didn’t involve pushing that button. She was happy. I was honest, credible, helpful, and very happy.

6. Parallel Answer
If you don’t know the bull’s eye answer to a question, offer what you do know quickly to demonstrate some credibility and then combine with a previous technique. When I was a software trainer I used to be an expert in the Lotus spreadsheet package. However Microsoft’s Excel began to gain popularity and I had to learn it so I could teach it. In the beginning I was on a learning curve. Sometimes I would be asked a question about Excel that I didn’t know the answer to, however I did know the answer in Lotus. Quickly I would say, “I know that is possible in Lotus. I’m not sure if that is available in Excel. I’m writing this question down. I’ll research it at the break and get back to you.” Refrain from droning on and on about your parallel knowledge. Brevity is the key to this technique.

7. Set the Rules
You can avoid many difficult questions simply by setting rules for questions in the beginning. Whenever you present to a group, you are the leader. You are accountable for everything, so lead. My experience is that if you set rules and follow them, the audience respects you. If you make rules up as you go along, you lose credibility.
The number of rules you set will vary depending on the topic. When I taught technical subjects, I set lots of rules because I knew the questions would be many and varied. I would start a software seminar by saying, “I welcome general questions at any time about anything on the agenda. If you have a specific question about a project you are working on or a subject outside of the agenda, please see me at a break for a private consultation. Because we have limited time together, I reserve the right to stop taking questions and comments. This is not personal. It is to make certain we cover every topic today.”

Summary
You can’t know the answer to everything. It’s how you handle yourself. Study these seven strategies and use them to maintain credibility and confidence.

******** STORY 1 ********

A girl and a boy were on a motorcycle, speeding through the night.
They loved each other a lot…..
Girl:”slow down a little.. I’m scared..”
Boy: “No, it’s so fun..”
Girl: “please..it’s so scary..”
Boy: “Then say that you love me..”
Girl: “Fine..I love you..can you slow down now?”
Boy: “Give me a big hug..”
The girl gave him a big hug.
Girl: “Now can you slow down?”
Boy: “Can you take off my helmet and put it on? It’s uncomfortable
and it’s bothering me while i ride.”

The next day, there was a story in the newspaper. A motorcycle had crashed into a building because its brakes were broken. There were two people on the motorcycle, of which one died, and the other had survived…The guy knew that the brakes were broken. He didn’t want to let the girl know, because he knew that the girl would have gotten scared. Instead, he was told the last time that she loved him,got a hug from her, put his helmet on her so that she can live, and die himself…

Once in a while, Right in the middle of an ordinary life, Love gives us a fairy tale…

Message “Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those  you hold well”

******** Story 2 ********
Nurse: “It was a busy morning, approximately 8:30 am, when an elderly gentleman, in his 80’s, presented to have sutures (stitches) removed from
his thumb.
 
He stated that he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. I (nurse) took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.
 
While taking care of his wound, we began to engage in conversation. Asked him if he had a doctor’s appointment this morning somewhere else, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I then inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer Disease. As we talked, and I finished dressing his wound, I asked if she would be worried if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.
 
I was surprised, and asked him. “And you are still going every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?” He smiled as he  patted my hand and said. “She doesn’t know me, but I still know who she is.” I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, “That is the kind of love I want in my life.”
 
True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.
 
Good friends are like stars…You don’t always see them, but you always know they’re there!!

******** STORY 3 *********

The passengers on the bus watched sympathetically as the attractive young woman with the white cane made her way carefully up the steps. She paid the driver and, using her hands to feel the location of the seats, walked down the aisle and found the seat he’d told her was empty. Then she’s settled in, placed her briefcase on her lap and rested her cane against her leg.

It had been a year since Susan became blind. Due to a medical misdiagnosis she had been rendered sightless, and she was suddenly thrown into a world of darkness, anger, frustration and self-pity. ‘How could this have happened to me?’ she would plead, her heart knotted with anger. But no matter how much she cried or ranted or prayed, she knew the painful truth, her sight was never going to return. A cloud of depression hung over Susan’s once optimistic spirit. All she had to cling to was her husband Mark.

Mark was an Air Force officer and he loved Susan with all his heart. When she first lost her sight, he watched her sink into despair and was determined to help his wife gain the strength she needed to become independent again.

Finally, Susan felt ready to return to her job, but how would she get there? She used to take the bus, but was now too frightened to get around the city by herself. Mark volunteered to drive her to work each day, even though they worked at opposite ends of the city. At first, this comforted Susan and fulfilled Mark’s need to protect his sightless wife who was so insecure about performing the slightest task. Soon, however Mark realized that this arrangement wasn’t working - it was hectic, and costly.

Susan is going to have to start taking the bus again, he admitted to himself. But just the thought of mentioning it to her made him cringe. She was still so fragile, so angry. How would she react? Just as Mark predicted, Susan was horrified at the idea of taking the bus again. “I’m blind!” she responded bitterly. “How am I supposed to know where I’m going? I feel like you’re abandoning me.”

Mark’s heart broke but he knew what had to be done. He promised Susan that each day he would ride the bus with her until she got the hang of it.

And that is exactly what happened. For two solid weeks, Mark, military uniform and all, accompanied Susan to and from work each day. He taught her how to rely on her other senses to determine where she was and how to adapt to her new environment. He helped her befriend the bus drivers who could watch out for her, and save her a seat. Each morning they made the journey together, and Mark would take a cab back to his office.

Although this routine was even more costly and exhausting than the previous one, Mark knew it was only a matter of time before Susan would be able to ride the bus on her own. Finally, Susan decided that she was ready to try the trip on her own. Monday morning arrived, and before she left, she threw her arms around Mark, her temporary bus riding companion, her husband, and her best friend. Her eyes filled with tears of gratitude for his loyalty, his patience, his love. She said good-bye, and for the first time, they went their separate ways. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday…. Each day on her own went perfectly, and Susan had never felt better.

On Friday morning, Susan took the bus to work as usual. As she was paying for her fare to exit the bus, the driver said, “Boy, I sure envy you.” Susan wasn’t sure if the driver was speaking to her or not. After all, who on earth would ever envy a blind woman who had struggled just to find the courage to live for the past year? “Why do you envy me?”

The driver responded, “It must feel so good to be taken care of and protected like you are.” Susan had no idea what the driver was talking about, “What do you mean?” The driver said, “You know, every morning for the past week, a fine looking gentleman in a military uniform has been standing across the corner watching you when you get off the bus. He makes sure you cross the street safely and he watches you until you enter your office building. Then he blows you a kiss, gives you a little salute and walks away. You are one lucky lady.”

Tears of happiness poured down Susan’s cheeks. For although she couldn’t see him, she had always felt Mark’s presence. She was blessed, so blessed, for he had given her a gift more powerful than sight, a gift she didn’t need to see to believe - the gift of love that can bring light where there had been darkness.

“You don’t love a woman because she is beautiful, but she is beautiful because you love her…”

So if you love someone be faithful to that person.

*******STORY 4********

From the very beginning, girl’s family objected strongly on her dating this guy, saying that it has got to do with family background, & that the girl will have to suffer for the rest of her life if she were to be with him.

Due to family’s pressure, the couple quarrelled very often. Though the girl loved the guy deeply, she always asked him: “How deep is your love for me?” As the guy is not good with his words, this often caused the girl to be very upset. With that & the family’s pressure, the girl often vents her anger on him. As for him, he only endured it in silence.

After a couple of years, the guy finally graduated & decided to further his studies overseas. Before leaving, he proposed to the girl:

“I’m not very good with words. But all I know is that I love you. If you allow me, I will take care of you for the rest of my life. As for your family, I’ll try my best to talk them round. Will you marry me?” The girl agreed, & with the guy’s determination, the family finally gave in & agreed to let them get married. So before he left, they got engaged. The girl went out to the working society, whereas the guy was overseas, continuing his studies. They sent their love through emails & phone calls. Though it was hard, but both never thought of giving up.

One day, while the girl was on her way to work, she was knocked down by a car that lost control. when she woke up, she saw her parents beside her bed. She realized that she was badly injured. Seeing her mum crying, she wanted to comfort her. But she realized that all that could come out of her mouth was just a sigh. she had lost her voice….

The doctor says that the impact on her brain has caused her to lose her voice. Listening to her parents’ comfort, but with nothing coming out from her, she broke down. During the stay in hospital, besides silence cry,..it’s still just silence cry that accompanied her. Upon reaching home, everything seems to be the same. Except for the ringing tone of the phone. Which pierced into her heart everytime it rang. She does not wish to let the guy know & not wanting to be a burden to him, she wrote a letter to him saying that she does not wish to wait any longer.

With that, she sent the ring back to him. In return, the guy sent millions & millions of reply, countless of phonecalls,.. all the girl could do, besides crying, is still crying…. The parents decided to move away, hoping that she could eventually forget everything & be happy.

With a new environment, the girl learns sign language & started a new life. Telling herself everyday that she must forget the guy. One day, her friend came & told her that he’s back. She asked her friend not to let him know what happened to her. Since then, there wasn’t anymore news of him. A year has passed & her friend came with an envelope, containing a invitation card for the guy’s wedding. The girl was shattered. When she open the letter, she saw her name in it instead. When she was about to ask her friend what’s going on, she saw the guy standing  in front of her.

He used sign language to tell her “I’ve spent a year to learn sign language. Just to let you know that I’ve not forgotten our promise. Let me have the chance to be your voice. I Love You.” With that, he slipped the ring back into her finger. The girl finally smiled. Treat every relationship as if it’s the last one, then you’ll know how to Give. Treat every moment as is it’s the last day, then you’ll know how to treasure.
 
Treasure what you have right now, or else you will regret one day…

******** STORY 5 ********

After 21 years of marriage, I discovered a new way of keeping alive the spark of love. A little while ago I had started to go out with another woman. It was really my wife’s idea. “I know that you love her,” she said one day, taking me by surprise. “But I love YOU,” I protested. “I know, but you also love her.”The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my mother, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally. That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie. “What’s wrong, are you well?” she asked. My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news.

“I thought that it would be pleasant to pass some time with you,” I responded.

“Just the two of us.”

She thought about it for a moment then said “I would like that very much.”

That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door with her coat on. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary. She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel’s.

“I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed,” she said, as she got into the car. “They can’t wait to hear about our meeting”. We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. my mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady. After we sat down, I had to read the menu to her. Her eyes could only read large print. Half way through the entree, I lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips. “It was I who used t o have to read the menu when you were small,” she said. ”Then it’s time for you to relax and let me return the favor,” I responded.

During the dinner we had an agreeable conversation, nothing extraordinary - but catching up on recent events of each others lives. We talked so much that we missed the movie. As we arrived at her house later, she said “I’ll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you”. I agreed.

“How was your dinner date?” asked my wife when I got home. “Very nice. Much more so than I could have imagined,” I answered.

A few days later my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn’t have a chance to do anything for her. Some time later I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place mother and I had dined.

An attached note said: “I paid this bill in advance. I was almost sure that I couldn’t be there but, nevertheless, I paid for two plates - one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant to me. I love you.” At that moment I understood the importance of saying, in time: “I
LOVE YOU” and giving our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing in life is more important than God and your family and friends.

Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put off til “some other time”.

Someone once said “I’ve learned that, regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life.

I think this is true with your in-laws, grandchildren, sisters, brothers and your friends. Anyone that means something to you-you should spend time with them and let them know how much they mean to you as often as you can.