With a timid voice and idolizing eyes, the little boy greeted his father as he returned from work, "Daddy, how much do you make an hour?"
Greatly surprised, but giving his boy a glaring look, the father said: "Look, son, not even your mother knows that. Don't bother me now, I'm tired."
"But Daddy, just tell me please!? How much do you make an hour," the boy insisted.
The father finally giving up replied: " Twenty dollars per hour."
"Okay, Daddy? Could you loan me ten dollars?" the boy asked.
Showing restlessness and positively disturbed, the father yelled:
"So that was the reason you asked how much I earn, right?? Go to sleep and don't bother me anymore!"
It was already dark and the father was meditating on what he had said and was feeling guilty. Maybe he thought, his son wanted to buy something.
Finally, trying to ease his mind, the father went to his son's room.
"Are you asleep son?" asked the father.
"No, Daddy. Why?" replied the boy partially asleep.
"Here's the money you asked for earlier," the father said.
"Thanks, Daddy!" rejoiced the son, while putting his hand under his pillow and removing some money.
"Now I have enough! Now I have twenty dollars!" the boy said to his father, who was gazing at his son, confused at what his son just said. "Daddy could you sell me one hour of your time?"
If you are the father, what would be your reaction?
What is parenting all about? Which is more important, family or career? Read more short stories at http://www.shortstories101.com/index.php
On the first day of Ramadan, 11th August 2010, Nor Atiqah bt Mat Samadi gave an insight about the Holy Month.
Glorious month of Holy Ramadhan
A very good morning to teachers and fellow students.Today, I would like to presentmy speech entitledGlorious month of Holy Ramadhan.
The month of holy Ramadan enjoys a special importance in the Islamic calendar. As Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) said:"It is Allah's Own month."It is the chief of all months and the most glorious one. As we already know, 'Fasting' is one of the important pillars of Islam and it is the very month of Ramadan during which fasting has been made obligatory for all adults and sane Muslims. By fasting during Ramadan, a Muslim besides discharging an obligation imposed upon him by Allah (SWT), becomes entitled to great reward in theHereafter. On the other hand, any lapse in the matter amounts to a great sin. Fasting is an article of worship, the knowledge about the performance or otherwise whereof rests only with Allah (SWT) and the person concerned. Hence, it is Allah (SWT) alone who will reward that person for it, on the Day of Judgment.
The blessings of Ramadan are not limited to fasting alone, because the performance of all sorts of worship and good deeds during this month is also a source of great Divine favor. The revelation of the Holy Quran commenced during this very month and it is therefore the duty of every Muslim to read and try to understand the meaning of the Holy Quran and thereby gain an insight into the Divine secrets enshrined therein. It brings peace and illumination to the mind and imparts purity to the soul.
Holy Ramadan is the month of fasting, intensive prayer, sacrifice and Divine worship. Throughout this month a devout Muslim fasts during the day in the true sense of the word, that is, he had merely denies himself food and water, but as explained by Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.), exercises strict control over his tongue, eyes, ears, thoughts and deeds and does everything possible to seek the pleasure of Allah (SWT).
Devout supplications to Allah (SWT) and repentance of one's sins during Holy Ramadhan are the sources of Divine blessings and mercy. Some nights, among the last ten nights of Ramadan, are called the'Nights of Glory' (Laylatul Qadr). These are the 19th, 21st, and 23rd nights. Muslims keep awake during these nights and offer special prayers. Even among these nights, the 23rd enjoys excellence over all the others. It is accompanied by great blessings, and he usually grants the supplications made to Allah (SWT) during this night.
The month of holy Ramadan, besides being the month of worship and Divine blessings, carries a historical importance as well. As already mentioned above, the revelations of the Holy Quran commenced in this month. The epoch-making'Battle of Badr'and the 'Conquest of Makkah' also took place during the holy month of Ramadan.
Lastly, the Prophet Muhammad told his followers that the gates of Heaven would be open all the month of the gates of Hell would be closed. May this be the best Ramadhan you ever had. May Allah bless you. Thank you.
Talking about world, it is not just about our daily activities. It is all about life, including ecosystem and also humanity and responsibility. World is beautiful. It has many living things. Trees with colourful flowers decorate the world beautifully; making our sense fresh and also can destroy any stresses.
Actually, human does not appreciate what had been given by our God. Many forest had been cleared by certain irresponsible human. They had never thought of the effects to our world. So, we must be committed of creating peaceful world starting from now.
I am a student, a student in a very beautiful smart school, also the showcase school for all other students in Malaysia. I also have the best teachers and friends. My school uniform, stationery, books; all of these completed my need in searching knowledge. As other humans, I also have been given by God perfect thinking skills.
At home, my identity is completely different. I am a daughter of a happy couple. My dad and mom always give me whatever I wanted. They bought me a big beautiful Barbie doll, a huge bedroom with an air conditioner that always makes me fresh. My routine will be filled with five times of meals. The food will be laid out on my table every time I am hungry. My health also increases day by day on having a balanced diet.
But why I felt all these were not enough for me? Am I greedy? Am I an ungrateful person? Or maybe, is my life incomplete?
Every time I step out of my house, the sunlight will shine harshly towards me. Ouch! Today is as hot as yesterday and even hotter than before! Why this happened? Without wasting much time, I quicken my steps to a long narrow road. It is very dark in here. Look, there are three men lying on some newspapers, with many strange things beside them. It looks like drug’s facilities. They are very thin and smelly. The situation makes me uncomfortable and persuades me to leave.
It doesn’t take a long time to be in this place. This place is called ‘town’. There are many people rushing to work on their own vehicles. Meanwhile, my ears caught a voice from an old man, coughing. He looks very weak when massaging his chest. I think, this is all because of the smoke and dust in the air.
Help! Help! ‘What was that? Ah, that was a woman shouting for help!’ My sight caught two men on a motorcycle. One of them was snatching a bag from the fat woman. Oh, no!
Nowadays, kidnappers, snatchers, robbers and crimes are everywhere. Every day, we would have to survey for places that are safe before starting walking propitiously. But for how long we want to be like this, living with fear? Where is the peacefulness, where is the humanity, where is the responsibility?
As a human, we must be concern on any issue about the world. As we all know, our world nowadays is not much peaceful than before. So, we must have a role in creating peaceful world. I am a futuristic person, so I also want only the best for our world.
Environment influences the peacefulness of the world. So, I must take care of my environment. I will never be selfish like them. They just focused on buildings and technology without thinking about nature. I also won’t litter anywhere. I have a smart brain, so I will always confirm that our nature is always clean.
My beloved earth today is suffering from air pollution. People always release chemical smokes from factories. Open burning also causes air pollution and global warming.
I know that I must appreciate the environment. I love my world. I promise that I will protect our environment to make the world peaceful starting from today, tomorrow and forever.
What does peaceful means? For me, it means a state of harmony among people or groups. It also means a quiet and calm country. My role in creating a peaceful world is to be an open- minded person, mixing with all the races and being a well moraled person.
Being an open-minded person will enable me to be ready to take in new ideas which are given by other people or for me to receive some facts. Getting new ideas from others should be taken as an advice. I should not be a fussy or a choosy person because if I am a fussy or a choosy person, I will not be able to talk to other races. If I am also a fussy person, I will end up in fights. I must have a good communication with others.
Next thing I need to do is mixing with all the races. I should mix with everybody either Malay, or Chinese or Indian. If they go in the wrong way, I should give them some advice, motivation or campaign. If I mix with all the races, I can organize a group. This group is to gather people and do some activities among the neighbours or friends such as cleaning up the environment near the house. It creates a very good relationship and it is not polluted, so we can get fresh air and stay healthy and in peaceful condition. Other than cleaning up the environment, we should do some planting at home to get some clean air and fresh oxygen. Organizing campaigns such as being a well moraled person is also helpful. Refraining people from taking drugs, smoking and also involve in motorbike races are encouraged to promote a peaceful world. .
Other than being an open-minded person or mixing with all the people from different backgrounds, I should help people such as giving some food, medicine and shelter. I also can help the blind people by helping them to read or do some other chores. I also should respect the old people. If they are talking, I should not interrupt or disturb them. When they ask for help, I should help them. I should talk to them politely and not to shout at them. I should not ask them to do for me any work or ask them to take things for me. I should communicate with them as my parents although they are of different races and religions.
Next, to create a peaceful world, I should pray that these incidents to be stopped - war against nations, political groups fighting with one another and among themselves, neighbours quarrel with one another and family members who do not speak to one another for months. Besides all these things, there are also cheating and killing each another. Religious groups can, and have, in the name of their religion persecute and kill those who do not agree with them. Ideological differences are the main factor causing the squabble between political parties. Family members may not speak to one another because some of them want to run the lives of the other. These differences between people are the reason why we have so many different political groups, religious sects, martial arts, private clubs and so on. Everybody prefers that things are done according to their wishes.
Nobody likes to be told that their opinion is wrong. A lot of people are not satisfied with what they have. They manipulate things to get what they want. Others do the same. Unavoidably they will step onto one another’s toe. There is need for tolerance and respect. We have to learn to tolerate and respect other people’s opinions and ideas. They are inescapable facts of life simply because we are all different person, physically and mentally. There is no need to cause further differences by insisting that only our opinions are correct and others are all wrong. It only makes the situation worse.
Then it comes to the matter of living together in this world of ours. Do we really want peace? Do we really want to live together without fighting with one another? If it is so please don’t fight then we can have a peaceful world.
Here are some slogans which I would like to impart, “sharing is the heart of living”, “power to the peaceful”, “pray for peace” and “one peaceful earth”.
I was walking around a beautiful garden with lots of blooming flowers and fresh air. There was a river nearby. The river was very clear that I could see the fish playing with their friends. There was also a jungle nearby. The air here was much better than the air before. I saw children playing at the playground nearby happily. They reminded me about the innocent children that were killed in Palestine. I just wish I could go there and help all the children that are suffering for food and shelter. I walked nearer to the playground. Suddenly, I felt that my feet were not touching the ground anymore. I looked down. I was floating in the air! I could fly! Now that I can fly, I will use this power to go to Palestine and help the children. So there I go.
Is this Palestine? Where are the suffering children? Where are the panicked people that wanted to save their family members from being killed? Why is it so peaceful? I can’t believe what I am seeing. Palestine is now a peaceful country! But how could this be? Am I still on earth? Although I am still confused, I am happy for the children here. Now they can run and play happily. I love the quietness here and the fresh air too. Suddenly the tranquility was disrupted by a loud but familiar sound. It was my alarm clock!
Ring!!!!! It was half past six already and I need to get ready for my morning prayers. After performing my prayers, I went to the kitchen to eat my breakfast. Then I took the newspaper and read it. In today’s newspaper, there is an article about the war in Palestine. I remembered my dream about the peaceful Palestine. How much I wish that my dream could be a reality. But people nowadays are selfish. They are just thinking about themselves. They just wanted to have instant benefits for them. Don’t they think what will happen to the other people and the environment? The Palestine people are also human beings. They have feelings and families. Don’t the Israeli feel pity for the children when they boomed Palestine? Suddenly my mom asked me to accompany her to the town to buy some groceries. So I put the newspaper down on the dining table and went into the car.
I was waiting while my mom talking to her friend at a restaurant that she met at the groceries shop. Near the restaurant there was a river. The river was full of rubbish and the smell was really unpleasant. Oh, I remembered about the river and the air in my dream that was really clean. I just wish the air here could be as fresh as the air in my dream, and the river was as clear as a crystal. Why do people never think about the importance of nature? Don’t they know that nature is really important to our next generation and us?
I’m in my room, thinking what small steps that I can take to make this world a peaceful world. Hmm, I think I can donate some money, clothes and others for the people in Palestine. I should boycott fast food restaurant that help the Israel. This way the Israel economy will decrease in number. I should not be selfish and just think of the benefits for myself that make others suffer. I should respect other religions so that there will not be any conflicts with other religions. I should work together with my family, friends and teachers to think of a drastic way to help the people in Palestine.
What about the environment? I should not throw rubbish anywhere I like, such as in the river, in the sea and in the drain. I should reduce the using of car and use public transport instead. I also should reduce the usage of air-conditioner and other things that produce carbon dioxide. I should not use too much paper and recycle all the things that can be recycled such as newspapers, aluminium cans and plastic bottles. Lastly, I should use a recycled bag when shopping instead of using the plastic bags that take a long time to decompose.
With all these small steps, I hope I can make this world a peaceful world. But I think I can’t do this alone, every people also need to follow these small steps to make the world serene and calm.
May you always have work for your hands to do. May your pockets hold always a coin or two. May the sun shine bright on your windowpane. May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain. May the hand of a friend always be near you. And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you. -Irish Retirement Blessing
Retirement Poems
As one chapter ends
Another begins for you
Enjoy all the things
You've been looking forward to
A very happy retirement to you
____________
Retirement
You earned it
Now enjoy it
____________
You no longer have to punch a time clock
You can now do
what you want
when you want
anytime you want.
