SPAGHETTI

When I received an email from my colleague, Vanessa Yong, in my inbox entitled, "Spaghetti", I thought Vanessa wanted to check with me on the cooking of the pasta. I had recently taught her how to make Spaghetti Bolognese and Pasta Marinara Bianco (Pasta Seafood with white wine).

The "Spaghetti" turned out to be a joke. I laughed so hard till my tummy became bloated with air, and helped to fill some of the pangs of hunger! (Great way to lose weight) Hence, I reproduce the joke to tickle my readers' funny bones! :-)

SPAGHETTI


For several years, a man was having an affair with an Italian woman.
One night, she confided in him that she was pregnant. Not wanting to ruin
his reputation or his marriage, He paid her a large sum of money if she
would go to Italy to secretly have the child, if she stayed in Italy to
raise the child, he would also provide child support until the child turned
18.

She agreed, but asked how he would know when the baby was born. To
keep it discrete, he told her to simply mail him a post card, and write
"Spaghetti" on the back. He would then arrange for the child support
payments to begin.

One day, about 9 months later, he came home to his confused
wife."Honey,"she said, "you received a very strange post card
today." "Oh, just give it to me and I'll explain it later," he said.The
wife obeyed and watched as her husband read the card, turned white,and
fainted.

On the card was written:

"Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti. Three with
meatballs, two without. Send extra sauce."

Sibling's Love - A Touching Story

I feel sad whenever I read about how siblings fight and tear each other apart over claims for their parents' wealth, etc.

Hence, when my colleague, Vanessa Yong, sent me this article, I felt extremely touched and would like to share this poignant story with my readers.


A VERY TOUCHING STORY.....

I was born in a secluded village on a mountain.

Day by day, my parents plowed the yellow dry soil with
their backs towards the sky.

I have a brother who is 3 years younger than me.

I wanted to buy a handkerchief, which all girls around
me seemed to have. So,
one day I stole 50 cents from my father's drawer.
Father had discovered about
the stolen money right away.

He made me and my younger brother kneel against the
wall as he held a bamboo
stick in his hand.

"Who stole the money?" he asked.

I was stunned, too afraid to talk. Neither of us
admitted to the fault, so he
said, "Fine, if nobody wants to admit, you two should
be beaten!"

He lifted up the bamboo stick.

Suddenly, my younger brother gripped father's hand and
said," Dad, I was the one
who did it!"

The long stick smacked my brother's back repeatedly.

Father was so angry that he kept on whipping my
brother until he lost his
breath.

After that, he sat down on our stone bed and scolded
my brother, "You have
learned to steal from your own house now. What other
embarrassing things will
you be possibly d oing in the future? You should be
beaten to death, you
shameless thief!"

That night, my mother and I hugged my brother. His
body was full of wounds from
the beating but he never shed a single tear.

In the middle of the night, all of sudden, I cried out
loudly.

My brother covered my mouth with his little hand and
said, " Sis, now don't cry
anymore. Everything has happened."

I still hate myself for not having enough courage to
admit what I did.

Years gone by, but the incident still seemed like it
just happened yesterday.

I will never forget my brother's ___expression when he
protected me.

That year, my brother was 8 years old and I was 11
years old.

When my brother was in his last year of secondary
school, he was accepted in an
upper secondary school in the central. At the same
time, I was accepted into a university in the
province.

That night, father squatted in the yard, smoking,
packet by packet.

I could hear him ask my mother, "Both of our children,
they have good results?
very good results?"

Mother wiped off her tears and sighed," What is the
use? How can we possibly
finance both of them?"

At that time, my brother walked out, he stood in front
of father and said, "Dad,
I don't want to continue my study anymore, I have read
enough books."

Father swung his hand and slapped my brother on his
face!

"Why do you have a spirit so damn weak? Even if it
means I have to beg for money
on the streets,

I will send you two to school until you have both
finished your study!"

And then, he started to knock on every house in the
village to borrow money.

I stuck out my hand as gently as I can to my brother's
swollen face, and told
him, "A boy has to continue his study; If not, he will
not be able to overcome
this poverty we are experiencing."

I, on the other hand, had decided not to further my
study at the university.

Nobody knew that on the next day, before dawn, my
brother left the house with a
few pieces of worn-out clothes and a few dry beans. He
sneaked to my side of the
bed and left a note on my pillow; "Sis, getting into a
university is not easy. I
will go find a job and I will send money to you."

I held the note while sitting on my bed, and cried
until I lost my voice.

That year, my brother was 17 years old; I was 20 years
old.

With the money father borrowed from the whole village,
and the money my brother
earned from carrying cement on his back at a
construction site,finally, I
managed to get to the third year of my study in the
university.

One day, while I was studying in my room, my roommate
came in and told
me,"There's a villager waiting for you outside!"

Why would there be a villager looking for me?

I walked out, and I saw my brother from afar. His
whole body was covered with
dirt, dust, cement and sand.

I asked him, "Why did you not tell my roommate that
you are my brother?"

He replied with a smile," Look at my appearance. What
will they think if they
would know that I am your brother? Won't they laugh at
you?"

I felt so touched, and tears filled my eyes. I swept
away dirt and dust from my
brother's body. And told him with a lump in my throat,
"I don't care what people
would say! You are my brother no matter
what your appearance is?"

From his pocket, he took out a butterfly hair clip.

He put it on my hair and said, "I saw all the girls in
town are wearing it. So,
I think you should also have one."

I could not hold back myself anymore. I pulled my
brother into my arms and
cried.

That year, my brother was 20 years old; I was 23 years
old.

I noticed that the broken window was repaired the
first time I brought my
boyfriend home. The house was scrubbed cleaned.

After my boyfriend left, I danced like a little girl
in front of my mother,
"Mom, you didn't have to spend so much time cleaning
the house!" But she told me
with a smile," It was your brother who went home early
to clean the house.
Didn't you see the wound on his hand? He hurt his hand
while he was replacing
the window."

I went into my brother's bedroom. Looking at his thin
face, I felt like there
are hundreds of needle pricked in my heart.

I applied some ointment on his wound and put a bandage
on it, "Does it hurt? " I
asked him.

"No, it doesn't hurt. You know, when at the
construction site, stones keep
falling on my feet. Even that could not stop me from
working."

In the middle of the sentence, he stopped. I turned my
back on him and tears
rolled down my face.

That year, my brother was 23 years old; I was 26 years
old.

After I got married, I lived in the city. Many times
my husband invited my
parents to come and live with us, but they didn't
want.

They said, once they left the village,they wouldn't
know what to do.

My brother agreed with them. He said, "Sis, you just
take care of your
parents-in-law. I will take care of mom and dad here."

My husband became the director of his factory. We
asked my brother to accept the
offer of being the manager in the maintenance
department. But my brother
rejected the offer. He insisted on working as a
repairman instead for a start.

One day, my brother was on the top of a ladder
repairing a cable, when he got
electrocuted, and was sent to the hospital.

My husband and I visited him at the hospital.

Looking at the white gypsum on his leg, I grumbled,
"Why did you reject the
offer of being a manager? Managers won't do something
dangerous like that. Now
look at you, You ar suffering a serious injury. Why
didn't you just listen to
us?"

With a serious ___expression on his face, he defended
his decision, "Think of
brother-in-law. He just became the director, and I
being uneducated, and would
become a manager, what kind of rumors would
fly around?"

My husband's eyes filled up with tears, and then I
said, "But you lack in
education only because of me!"

"Why do you talk about the past?" he said and then he
held my hand.

That year, he was 26 years old and I was 29 years old.

My brother was 30 years old when he married a farmer
girl from the village.

During the wedding reception, the master of ceremonies
asked him, "Who is the
one person you respect and love the most?"

Without even taking a time to think, he answered," My
sister." He continued by
telling a story I could not even remember.

"When I was in primary school, the school was in a
different village. Everyday,
my sister and I would walk for 2 hours to school and
back home. One day, I lost
the other pair of my gloves. My sister gave me one of
hers.

She wore only one glove and she had to walk far. When
we got home, her hands
were tremblin g because of the cold weather that she
could not even hold her
chopsticks. From that day on, I swore that as long as
I live, I would take care
of my sister and will always be good to her."

Applause filled up the room. All guests turned their
attention to
me.

I found it hard to speak, "In my whole life, the one I
would like to thank most
is my brother," And in this happy occasion,in front of
the crowd, tears were
rolling down my face again.

Love and care for the one you love every single day of
your life. You may think
what you did is just a small deed, but to that
someone, it may mean a lot.



A very touching story. . .

I was born in a secluded village on a mountain.

Day by day, my parents plowed the yellow dry soil with
their backs towards the sky.

I have a brother who is 3 years younger than me.

I wanted to buy a handkerchief, which all girls around
me seemed to have. So,
one day I stole 50 cents from my father's drawer.
Father had discovered about
the stolen money right away.

He made me and my younger brother kneel against the
wall as he held a bamboo
stick in his hand.

"Who stole the money?" he asked.

I was stunned, too afraid to talk. Neither of us
admitted to the fault, so he
said, "Fine, if nobody wants to admit, you two should
be beaten!"

He lifted up the bamboo stick.

Suddenly, my younger brother gripped father's hand and
said," Dad, I was the one
who did it!"

The long stick smacked my brother's back repeatedly.

Father was so angry that he kept on whipping my
brother until he lost his
breath.

After that, he sat down on our stone bed and scolded
my brother, "You have
learned to steal from your own house now. What other
embarrassing things will
you be possibly d oing in the future? You should be
beaten to death, you
shameless thief!"

That night, my mother and I hugged my brother. His
body was full of wounds from
the beating but he never shed a single tear.

In the middle of the night, all of sudden, I cried out
loudly.

My brother covered my mouth with his little hand and
said, " Sis, now don't cry
anymore. Everything has happened."

I still hate myself for not having enough courage to
admit what I did.

Years gone by, but the incident still seemed like it
just happened yesterday.

I will never forget my brother's ___expression when he
protected me.

That year, my brother was 8 years old and I was 11
years old.

When my brother was in his last year of secondary
school, he was accepted in an
upper secondary school in the central. At the same
time, I was accepted into a university in the
province.

That night, father squatted in the yard, smoking,
packet by packet.

I could hear him ask my mother, "Both of our children,
they have good results?
very good results?"

Mother wiped off her tears and sighed," What is the
use? How can we possibly
finance both of them?"

At that time, my brother walked out, he stood in front
of father and said, "Dad,
I don't want to continue my study anymore, I have read
enough books."

Father swung his hand and slapped my brother on his
face!

"Why do you have a spirit so damn weak? Even if it
means I have to beg for money
on the streets,

I will send you two to school until you have both
finished your study!"

And then, he started to knock on every house in the
village to borrow money.

I stuck out my hand as gently as I can to my brother's
swollen face, and told
him, "A boy has to continue his study; If not, he will
not be able to overcome
this poverty we are experiencing."

I, on the other hand, had decided not to further my
study at the university.

Nobody knew that on the next day, before dawn, my
brother left the house with a
few pieces of worn-out clothes and a few dry beans. He
sneaked to my side of the
bed and left a note on my pillow; "Sis, getting into a
university is not easy. I
will go find a job and I will send money to you."

I held the note while sitting on my bed, and cried
until I lost my voice.

That year, my brother was 17 years old; I was 20 years
old.

With the money father borrowed from the whole village,
and the money my brother
earned from carrying cement on his back at a
construction site,finally, I
managed to get to the third year of my study in the
university.

One day, while I was studying in my room, my roommate
came in and told
me,"There's a villager waiting for you outside!"

Why would there be a villager looking for me?

I walked out, and I saw my brother from afar. His
whole body was covered with
dirt, dust, cement and sand.

I asked him, "Why did you not tell my roommate that
you are my brother?"

He replied with a smile," Look at my appearance. What
will they think if they
would know that I am your brother? Won't they laugh at
you?"

I felt so touched, and tears filled my eyes. I swept
away dirt and dust from my
brother's body. And told him with a lump in my throat,
"I don't care what people
would say! You are my brother no matter
what your appearance is?"

From his pocket, he took out a butterfly hair clip.

He put it on my hair and said, "I saw all the girls in
town are wearing it. So,
I think you should also have one."

I could not hold back myself anymore. I pulled my
brother into my arms and
cried.

That year, my brother was 20 years old; I was 23 years
old.

I noticed that the broken window was repaired the
first time I brought my
boyfriend home. The house was scrubbed cleaned.

After my boyfriend left, I danced like a little girl
in front of my mother,
"Mom, you didn't have to spend so much time cleaning
the house!" But she told me
with a smile," It was your brother who went home early
to clean the house.
Didn't you see the wound on his hand? He hurt his hand
while he was replacing
the window."

I went into my brother's bedroom. Looking at his thin
face, I felt like there
are hundreds of needle pricked in my heart.

I applied some ointment on his wound and put a bandage
on it, "Does it hurt? " I
asked him.

"No, it doesn't hurt. You know, when at the
construction site, stones keep
falling on my feet. Even that could not stop me from
working."

In the middle of the sentence, he stopped. I turned my
back on him and tears
rolled down my face.

That year, my brother was 23 years old; I was 26 years
old.

After I got married, I lived in the city. Many times
my husband invited my
parents to come and live with us, but they didn't
want.

They said, once they left the village,they wouldn't
know what to do.

My brother agreed with them. He said, "Sis, you just
take care of your
parents-in-law. I will take care of mom and dad here."

My husband became the director of his factory. We
asked my brother to accept the
offer of being the manager in the maintenance
department. But my brother
rejected the offer. He insisted on working as a
repairman instead for a start.

One day, my brother was on the top of a ladder
repairing a cable, when he got
electrocuted, and was sent to the hospital.

My husband and I visited him at the hospital.

Looking at the white gypsum on his leg, I grumbled,
"Why did you reject the
offer of being a manager? Managers won't do something
dangerous like that. Now
look at you, You ar suffering a serious injury. Why
didn't you just listen to
us?"

With a serious ___expression on his face, he defended
his decision, "Think of
brother-in-law. He just became the director, and I
being uneducated, and would
become a manager, what kind of rumors would
fly around?"

My husband's eyes filled up with tears, and then I
said, "But you lack in
education only because of me!"

"Why do you talk about the past?" he said and then he
held my hand.

That year, he was 26 years old and I was 29 years old.

My brother was 30 years old when he married a farmer
girl from the village.

During the wedding reception, the master of ceremonies
asked him, "Who is the
one person you respect and love the most?"

Without even taking a time to think, he answered," My
sister." He continued by
telling a story I could not even remember.

"When I was in primary school, the school was in a
different village. Everyday,
my sister and I would walk for 2 hours to school and
back home. One day, I lost
the other pair of my gloves. My sister gave me one of
hers.

She wore only one glove and she had to walk far. When
we got home, her hands
were tremblin g because of the cold weather that she
could not even hold her
chopsticks. From that day on, I swore that as long as
I live, I would take care
of my sister and will always be good to her."

Applause filled up the room. All guests turned their
attention to
me.

I found it hard to speak, "In my whole life, the one I
would like to thank most
is my brother," And in this happy occasion,in front of
the crowd, tears were
rolling down my face again.

Love and care for the one you love every single day of
your life. You may think
what you did is just a small deed, but to that
someone, it may mean a lot.

No Teeth, No Money and ........No Hair!!!!!

Recently, our Prime Minister, in his usual humorous manner, reminded his beloved citizens and residents of Singapore, that when they are old, it would be terrible not to have teeth; it would be even worse if they had no money!! I would like to remind our Prime Minister and his cabinet, "Bo geh, bo lui.....pun bo moh!!! (No teeth, no money.....and also no hair!)

If you were to look around, the people in this little dot need not wait till 85 years to lose their hairs! Already, young men at around mid-twenties are starting to bald. Worse, ladies too are losing their hairs, and many could be seen with bald patches on their otherwise perfect heads!!! During my mother's time, ladies usually, unless they had health problems, often had their lovely crowning glory intact till they went six feet under!

Why is that so? More and more ladies are taking on the roles as heads of the families. The divorce rate is increasing, and usually mothers have custody of their children. Even single ladies who are climbing the corporate ladder of success are balding!

Not to sound as if I were murmuring, I would perhaps like to point out how things could be improved in our little nation so that stress can be reduced for everyone.

More leeways should be given. Although rules are good to maintain law and order, nevertheless, every case should be weighed and considered. Do not just penalise your people ....please don't just follow law! It makes me feel very "sian" (fed up)
when I read of the man who was fined for parking his car in front of his own house.
Sometimes, we take things for granted, you know. After all, our sense of ownership does not only extend to our lovely island of Singapore, but to our little homes as well. The driveway infront of our doors must be ours lah. After all, we would only be blocking ourselves with our car parked at our own entrance. I would suggest a warning be given; or a little explanation from the authority be given to elucidate or educate your people.

I was also amused when I read that the National Library had sent out fines to those who did not return books some time back, ranging as far back as five years! I guess the majority of our people would not have the blessings of a photographic memory. People would be more likely to remember hurts and pain inflicted upon them, but not books borrowed and returned late. As one borrower had cried out in frustration, "So much work over 30 cents." The time of our people could be saved by asking them to donate the fines. Can you imagine people spending a few dollars in bus or mrt fares to the Library just to pay the 30 cents fine? Why not give them the option of donating $5/- or $10/- to a charitable organisation. The $10/- is taking into consideration the saving of time and taxi fares. Or why not just cancel and pardon your people and give a stern warning? No, I am not a borrower; in fact, very paiseh, (embarrassing) I had never stepped into any public library all these two and a half decades since I arrived in Singapore! I glean all my information from magazines and newspapers, as well as the computer. Somehow I never like libraries....they remind me of cemetries; the silence and serious ambience in the building is too frightening for me.

The government has encouraged everyone to be entrepreneurial. Yet so many rules are stringent. If a company gets messed up; directors quarrel, income and expenses are not filed, heavy fines are imposed. Is it any wonder why many a brainy engineer or lawyer prefers to be a salaried staff? Too many risks and too stringent rules. If we want to keep the hairs on our heads intact; play safe. Lead a less complicated life.

Perhaps the marriage vow should be revised to, "In sickness and in good health; in poverty and in wealth, in head full of hairs and botak head, (bald headed) till death do us part."

Arghh! Hairs are dropping from my head! Where's the vacuum cleaner?

Gan Chau