The statements, opinions, or views in the articles may not necessarily reflect that of the Goan Voice Canada.

The Prayers of Orphans
This post and photos from
http://cecilpinto.wordpress.com/2012/06/27/the-prayers-of-orphans/ 
June 27, 2012 | From posting on GoaNet by Mervyn Lobo

Click photos to Enlarge

Earlier this month my Kuwait based friend, Ulysses, wrote to me saying that it was the First Death Anniversary of his father, Anthony Menezes, and he needed to release some adverts in the local Goan newspapers. These adverts would be to remind people about the Anniversary Mass. I got him in touch with an advertising agency who gave him the rates which worked out to about Rs. 5000/- for a small advert in the O Heraldo and similar amounts in other papers. Ulysses was all set to release adverts in three newspapers when I intervened.

With modern networking and communication, I assured Ulysses that it was possible to intimate all the friends and relatives, that mattered, about the Anniversary Mass. Ulysses said he had already done so but said that since he had budgeted a certain amount for the Mass, Choir, Snacks, Beverages, etc, this was just another of the budgeted amounts – for advertisements. I convinced him to advertise in one newspaper only and to spend the rest of the money budgeted for advertisements on some charitable cause. Ulysses readily agreed with my suggestion and gave me Rs. 10,000/- to do whatever was necessary.

I contacted my Aldona based parents who got in touch with Auxilium Convent in Carona. The nuns in charge run a Primary School there. Forty five of these students live in the boarding house. They are all girls without one or both parents, or from broken families. These ‘orphans’ are very grateful for whatever they can get. A deal was made with a local caterer and on Sunday 17th June which also happened to be my son Fabian’s birthday we drove down and served the girls a meal of:

• Green Peas Pulav

• Fried Chicken

• Cauliflower Caldin

• Custard and Jelly Dessert

Beatrice and my Mom purchased some small pouches and filled them with pencils, erasers, sharpeners and some assorted sweets and a Frooti each. These were given as gifts to the girls before the meal. All within the Rs. 10,000/- budget. We gave the nun in charge a Memorial Card of Ulysses father and she read from it and the children said a prayer for him. They also sang Happy Birthday to Fabian. I am sure Ulysses father will be pleased at money well spent rather than just making publishers rich with unnecessary advertisements.

I write this in the hope of convincing others to do similar charitable works. I see totally unnecessary and huge and expensive Death and Condolence and Death Anniversary adverts in the papers that serve no purpose other than making the publishers rich. The same money could be spent on feeding or clothing or educating needy children.

The ‘Busy’ Trap
Blog from New York Times
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/30/the-busy-trap/
By TIM KREIDER
 
Excerpts:
If you live in America in the 21st century you’ve probably had to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are. It’s become the default response when you ask anyone how they’re doing: “Busy!” “So busy.” “Crazy busy.” It is, pretty obviously, a boast disguised as a complaint. And the stock response is a kind of congratulation: “That’s a good problem to have,” or “Better than the opposite.”
Even children are busy now, scheduled down to the half-hour with classes and extracurricular activities. They come home at the end of the day as tired as grown-ups.

The present hysteria is not a necessary or inevitable condition of life; it’s something we’ve chosen, if only by our acquiescence to it.

Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness; obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or trivial or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand every hour of the day.

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