A Glass Full of Water

We were given a large new carpet offcut by the company that had put new carpet into our house. It was cut to fit in our small sleep out room. There was a substantial amount left. What to do with it? Val spoke with a local who looks after a pop up pantry in our town and has extensive local knowledge of people in need.  She picked up the carpet and delivered it to a family where both parents work, but are barely able to cover their weekly costs. The family had no lounge floor covering so it suited them perfectly. We also had a mini portable oven that we used during our house renovations. The oven was still in great condition. In short, the oven, along with an electric frypan, was delivered to the same family where they were immediately put to good use rather than gather dust in our storage shed. The above goods could have been sold on Trade Me or another similar site. But, why should we always do that? Perhaps it’s time for a mindset change… POINTS to PONDER Why must eve...

  Kronic is synthetic cannabis. For a time in New Zealand it was legally available in dairies. In my view (and the view of many others) it was a scourge in our society. Dairies were getting robbed for the drug and there was an increase in associated anti-social behaviour.  A number of dairy owners whose only imperative was to make money at the expense of our younger generation would sell the drug. We had two local dairies where we used to live in Hamilton. One owner to his credit displayed a sign showing that he did not sell Kronic. I thanked him for choosing to do this. The other owner did not… So, each Saturday morning for a couple of months I visited his shop, purchased a newspaper and then challenged him with a variety of questions.  “Would you sell this rubbish to your sons?”  “What profit do you make on each sold item?”  “Why are you making this choice?”  Most times his answer was to look at me in stony silence. Eventually, due to public pressure, Kr...

On my regular morning commute to Hamilton (pre Covid times) my ‘driving buddy’ and I used to pick up a guy that had bad body odour. But, what a neat guy to pick up.  He would wait at the side of the road for us or anyone else to take him to his labouring job. He was a good talker and I hope we were good listeners. He gave us many positive insights into his work ethic and his wish not to be a burden on society. We had a few laughs together too. In turn, we recognised his many qualities as a human being. He didn’t want or expect any handouts and was happy to work. Such a pleasure to help him out and our interactions were mutually beneficial.  We don’t see him anymore and I wonder what happened to him. He was good company and we just helped while we could. POINTS to PONDER Try not to judge people by their ‘appearances’. Perhaps they don’t look like us. So what. Be a good listener. You will hear ‘stuff’ that has the potential to make you a better person as you consider what is ...

NEVER SEND A LETTER IN ANGER!!!!!!!!  Such a letter has the power to humiliate, embarrass and hurt the recipient. It’s a form of abuse. Reactionary words will only get a reactionary response. Social and print media is full of vitriol aimed at putting the writer up and the target down. Don’t do it. Let’s be fair and reasonable in our spoken and written words.  Sports stars never try to lose a game, so send a message of loyalty and support. Politicians don’t always get it right, but they don’t deserve hate mail either. Journalists get hammered with lots of incendiary messages, so be open to send calm, reasoned thoughts. Retail businesses are struggling with decreased customer spending but I know they value your encouraging feedback and suggestions.  Help lift morale in these stressful times. Occasionally, you will get a gracious reply as soft words are appreciated.  Build people up rather than knock them down. We are all human. We all have our frailties and we all make...