To promote reading!

Every morning, the CEO of a major bank in Manhattan went to the corner where a shoeshine man was always there. He used to sit on the chair, read the Wall Street Journal and the shoeshine man gave his shoes a shiny, great look. 

One morning, the shoeshine man asks the CEO : "What do you think of the stock market situation?" 

The CEO arrogantly asks him : "Why are you so interested in this subject?" 

The shoeshine man replies : "I have twenty million dollars deposited in your bank and I am thinking about investing part of the money in the stock market". 

The CEO of the bank asks : "What is your name?"

He replies : "John Smith H". 

The CEO arrives at the bank and asks the Manager of the Major Accounts Department : "Do we have a customer named John Smith H?"

The Customer Service Manager for Major Accounts replies : "We certainly do, sir. He is an extremely esteemed customer! He has 20 million dollars in his account.

The CEO leaves the bank, approaches the shoeshine man and says : "Mr Smith, I would like to invite you to be our guest of honour at our board meeting next Monday and tell us your life story. I'm sure we will have a lot to learn from you".

At the board meeting, the CEO introduces him to the board members : "We all know Mr Smith, who makes our shoes shine like no one else. But Mr Smith is also our valued customer, with 20 million dollars in his account. I invited him to tell us the story of his life. I'm sure we can learn a lot from him. Please, Mr Smith, tell us your life story.

Then, Mr Smith began to narrate his story : "I came to the country thirty years ago as a young immigrant from eastern Europe and with an unpronounceable name. I left the ship penniless in my pocket. The first thing I did was to change my name to Smith. I was hungry and exhausted. I started to wander in search for a job, but without success. Suddenly, I found a coin on the sidewalk. I bought some apples. I had two options : eat the apples and satisfy my hunger or start a business. I sold the apples for 50 cents and bought more apples with the money. When I started accumulating dollars, I managed to buy a set of used brushes and shoe polishes and started cleaning shoes. I didn't spend a dime on fun or clothes. I only bought bread and cheese to survive. I saved penny by penny and after a while I bought a new set of brushes and shoe polishes in different shades and colours and increased my clientele. I lived like a monk and saved a penny after penny. After a while, I managed to buy a chair so that my customers could sit comfortably while I cleaned their shoes, which brought me more customers. I didn't spend a dime on the pleasures of life. I kept saving every penny. A few years ago, when the corner shoeshine colleague decided to retire, I had already saved enough money to buy his point, which was a better place than mine.

Finally, three months ago, my brother, who was a drug dealer in Chicago, passed away and left me twenty million dollars"......

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Clearly, this is just a campaign to promote reading! Reading stimulates the mind and imagination, makes us travel to other places and even helps communication.

                                                 EPILOGUE

PN Panicker (01 Mar 1909 - 19 Jun 1995) exhorted the Malayalees to read with a simple, yet powerful slogan, "Vaayichu Valaruka, Chinthichu Vivekam Neduka"(Read and Grow, Think and Be Enlightened). And mind you, Kerala attained 100% literacy in 1991 thanks to this frail man's hard work, dedication and perseverance!

     

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. Wound up my work quickly.

Dhinu and Abhirami, were the guests of honour for lunch with us. They'd come by exactly after a month after their marriage, after Lekha had invited them at the time of their wedding.