IAF pilot to IIT students during a Seminar

This was narrated by an IAF pilot to IIT students during a Seminar on Human Relations:

 

Venkatesh Balasubramaniam (who works for IIT) describes how his gesture of booking an air ticket for his father, his maiden flight, brought forth a rush of emotions and made him (Venkatesh) realize that how much we all take for granted when it comes to our parents.

 

My parents left for our native place on Thursday and we went to the airport to see them off. In fact, my father had never traveled by air before, so I just took this opportunity to make him experience the same. In spite of being asked to book tickets by train, I got them tickets on Jet Airways. The moment I handed over the tickets to him, he was surprised to see that I had booked them by air. The excitement was very apparent on his face, waiting for the time of travel. Just like a school boy, he was preparing himself on that day and we all went to the airport, right from using the trolley for his luggage, the baggage check-in and asking for a window seat and waiting restlessly for the security check-in to happen. He was thoroughly enjoying himself and I, too, was overcome with joy watching him experience all these things. As they were about to go in for the security check-in, he walked up to me with tears in his eyes and thanked me. He became very emotional and it was not as if I had done something great but the fact that this meant a great deal to him.

 

When he said thanks, I told him there was no need to thank me. But later, thinking about the entire incident, I looked back at my life. As a child, how many dreams our parents have made come true. Without understanding the financial situation, we ask for cricket bats, dresses, toys, outings, etc. Irrespective of their affordability, they have catered to all our needs. Did we ever think about the sacrifices they had to make to accommodate many of our wishes? Did we ever say thanks for all that they have done for us? Same way, today when it comes to our children, we always think that we should put them in a good school. Regardless of the amount of donation, we will ensure that we will have to give the child the best, theme parks, toys, etc. But we tend to forget that our parents have sacrificed a lot for our sake to see us happy, so it is our responsibility to ensure that their dreams are realized and what they failed to see when they were young. It is our responsibility to ensure that they experience all those and their life is complete. Many times, when my parents had asked me some questions, I have actually answered back without patience. When my daughter asks me something, I have been very polite in answering. Now I realize how they would have felt at those moments.

 

Let us realize that old age is a second childhood and just as we take care of our children, the same attention and same care needs to be given to our parents and elders. Rather than my dad saying thank you to me, I would want to say sorry for making him wait so long for this small dream. I do realize how much he has sacrificed for my sake and I will do my best to give the best possible attention to all their wishes. Just because they are old does not mean that they will have to give up everything and keep sacrificing for their grandchildren also. They have wishes, too.

 

Take care of your parents too. THEY ARE PRECIOUS.

 

HALF TON DAD

Enormous ... Kenneth at 73-stone

AT a massive 73-stone, Kenneth Brumley must lose weight, or die. 

His daily intake of 30,000 calories is the same as a regular-sized man eats in two weeks. 

For four years he's been confined to a bed which buckled under his weight and powerless to move his gigantic legs. 

Only deliveries of fast food from his partner Serena break the monotony of the day.

Because of this weakness for junk food, Kenneth is among two million Americans who are over 40-stone, and classed as super morbidly obese. 

Kenneth, 40, from Texas, says: "I got into this shape over the last seven years. 

"They've been the worst of my life. 

"It is like I'm a prisoner to myself. 

"I just sit here, watch TV and eat. 

"That's all I do, every day." 

The volume of food Kenneth consumes is truly shocking. 

He says: "I'd wake up and get chilli cheese fries for breakfast. 

"It's basically fast food 24 hours a day, seven days a week 

"That and a case of super-strength lager. 

"At my

 heaviest I ate three or four cheeseburgers at a time, maybe a half gallon of orange juice or apple juice. 

"Two litre bottles of soda would last about 30 minutes. 

"If I feel like Chinese, McDonalds or Mexican, that's what I get." 

' I don't know if it's an addiction. But once that weight gets on you, it's hard getting it off '

Amazingly, Kenneth, a dad-of-four, used to be a sports fanatic. 

But his weight problem started at 19,

 when he temporarily moved to California from Texas. 

He says: "I was constantly playing basketball, baseball, football. 

"I ate a lot when I was a child, a whole lot. "But I burnt all that off with the activities I was doing. 

"In California the lifestyle wasn't good. 

"When I got there I didn't know anybody and all the sports I was doing stopped. 

"So many times I went to buy new pants and would have to return two weeks later for a bigger size.

"I was just picking up the weight unbelievably quickly. 

' The weight stopped me enjoying life with my kids. I've missed most of their young lives

 '

"I don't know if it's an addiction. But once that weight gets on you, it's hard getting it off." 

Unsurprisingly, Kenneth's had little success with fad diets. 

But gastric bypass surgery, to reduce the size of his

 stomach, could be the answer. 

He says: "I've tried low calorie, low carbs and the Greek food diet. 

"I did what exercise I could from my bed, but you lose 20 to 30 pounds, and that's it. 

"Then you gain it back twice more. 

"I'd like to have a gastric bypass because I think that would be a big help and would change my life. 

"There is no way I'm going to improve like this." 

 
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Massive problem ... fire crews attempt to get Kenneth out of bed

After being accepted as a gastric bypass patient at the prestigious Renaissance Hospital in Houston, a fire crew had to hammer down a wall in Kenneth's house to get him out. 

As their biggest ever patient, before he could undergo surgery he had 15-stone of fatty tumours cut away from his body. 

Meanwhile his diet was reduced from 30,000 calories a day to just 1,200. 

Despite the horrendous effort required to shrink his size, Kenneth remains determined to succeed. 

He says: "It might take a few months but I'm going to be back on my feet. 

"It's been a long time since I had fresh air. 

"I'm looking forward to being

 outside. 

"The weight also stopped me enjoying life with my kids. 

"I've missed most of their young lives, so now they're young ladies. 

"It won't be long before they're getting married. 

"I want to be sure I'm walking with them proudly down the aisle."

 

Not Home Yet

 

NOT HOME YET
By: Joseph J. Mazzella
 

I love the story of the old missionary couple. A couple went to
Africa to serve as missionaries right after they were married. They
had planned to serve only a couple of years and then return home. They
soon fell in love, however, with the kind people they had come to
help. They stayed on year after year setting up a clinic and a school,
helping the people build a sanitation system so they could have clean
water, teaching children to read and learn, and sharing their faith
and love daily with the villagers that they cared so deeply about.
 

Finally, after over 50 years of faithful work, failing health
caused the couple to decide to come home again. They wrote to their
hometown community and church to let them know when they were coming.
After sailing several days they arrived in the port community that
they grew up in.  They smiled when they saw a large crowd cheering the
boat as it anchored. Their smiles and hearts fell, though, when they
saw that the crowd was there to cheer a local politician on the same
ship. The old man told his crying wife that he was going to ask God in
prayer why after so many years of service not one person was there to
greet them when they arrived home. He went into their cabin for
several minutes then came out with a peaceful and joyous smile on his
face. His wife asked him if God had said anything to him as he prayed.
"Yes," he replied. "He said 'You are not Home yet!'"

This is something we all should remember as we journey through
this life with all of its challenges, pains, and struggles. We are not
Home yet. Home is the place where our loving Father awaits us. Home is
the place where our true reward lies. Home is the place where the love
we learned, the good we did, and the joy we shared will reside in our
souls forever. Rejoice in your life here then. Love, help others and
be happy. The lights will be on when you get home.

Women Stay at Home It doesn't Mean She Do Nothing

A man was sick and tired of going to work every day
while his wife stayed home. He wanted her to see
what he went through so he prayed:

"Dear Lord: I go to work every day and put in 8 hours while
my wife merely stays at home. I want her to know what I
go through, so please allow her body to switch with mine
for a day. Amen.

God, in his infinite wisdom, granted the man's wish.
The next morning, sure enough, the man awoke as a woman.
He arose, cooked breakfast for his mate, awakened the kids,
Set out their school clothes, fed them breakfast, packed their
lunches, Drove them to school, came home and picked up the
dry cleaning, took it to the cleaners And stopped at the bank
to make a deposit, went grocery shopping, Then drove home
to put away the groceries, Paid the bills and balanced the
checkbook. He cleaned the cat's litter box and bathed the dog.

Then it was already 1 P.M. and he hurried to make the beds,
do the laundry, vacuum, dust, and sweep and mop the kitchen floor.
Ran to the school to pick up the kids and got into an argument with
them on the way home.

Set out milk and cookies and got the kids organized to do their
homework, Then set up the ironing board and watched TV while
he did the ironing.

At 4:30 he began peeling potatoes and washing vegetables for salad,
breaded the pork chops and snapped fresh beans for supper.

After supper, he cleaned the kitchen, ran the dishwasher,
folded laundry, bathed the kids, and put them to bed. At 9 P.M.
he was exhausted and, though his daily chores weren't finished,
he went to bed where he was expected to make love, which he
managed to get through without complaint.

The next morning, he awoke and immediately knelt by the bed and said,
Lord, I don't know what I was thinking. I was so wrong to envy my wife
being able to stay home all day. Please, oh please, let us trade back."

The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, replied, "My son, I feel you have learned
your lesson and I will be happy to change things back to the way they were.
You'll just have to wait nine months, though. You got pregnant last night."