They say that these are the golden years

Bcos With my new aches and pains

Its certainly no pleasure .

Walking, talking , are not easy

Where do I walk to ?

What can I eat ? How do I eat it ?

When it comes to causing trouble and playing up

All my organs have a mind of their own

Its my aching bones .

My new unwanted companions on the road

Cardiac pains and generally bored .

And their pals helplessness and stress .

I can handle some uninvited guests

Often I ask the Lord

Why not reward me with some restful times

For now I'd like a preview of heaven here

Or if you have other plans for me elsewhere .

Clayton Desouza

I know we are all good citizens and try to pay our legitimate taxes except those we can evade ( sorry Plan ) them .

These are some examples

Have you ever looked at your bus tickets that you buy . The 5 ps surcharge on bus tickets in Mumbai and other places . Small as it is ( but believe me it adds up ) the point is that this was originally
levied towards supporting the Bangladesh refugees . how much of this money was ever used for that purpose and why is it still levied 35 Years hence is anybodies guess .

- On the expressway and other toll roads and bridges like Vashi bridge . The expressway was built on a BOT scheme i.e Build , Operate and transfer ..oh but it costs more to maintain then to build This
would be evident from the fact that the toll today is far more then that charged by the builders and at least they had a valid reason .. to recover thier costs .

Toll for a limited time makes sense but really extending it indefinitely doesn't except to perpetuate an easy though unjustified revenue stream and ensure employment for few more people .

3. Lotteries :
State lotteries are yet another form of taxation which we pay willingly . I suppose they must be paying out money to some winners but we don't usually hear of the big winners . I wonder is this to avoid taxation issues , which coming to think of it , any which way you cant bcos deducted at source or is the whole thing rigged to present a semblance of working normally .Surely a poor man winning
a few lakhs / crores is a newsworthy item .

Another tax we pay as consumers are amounts over the MRP that we are often charged and pay willingly .

5. VAT and Sales Tax differentials :

VAT . Again this is a tax paid to the merchant and not to the government .

So we can now console ourselves that that while we 'plan' our Income taxes in some areas we
do willingly make up by paying other taxes willingly .

When will my Star Shine

Weighed down by my frustrations
Unfulfilled promises to myself ..others .
Desires wishes still in dreamy nation
And many Points to prove .

The tide seems against me
Pushing be back
2 steps forward , then 3 steps back .
Some silver linings ..followed by black .

Do I need to look elsewhere ?
Maybe within
Seems like that stores depleted ,
Like Mother Hubbard's kitchen

Lord , when will this tide turn ,
When will my star shine .
What you say the stars are already shining
Looks like you are right
But please tell me how do I find mine .

WOMEN'S ENGLISH

1. Yes = No
2. No = Yes
3. Maybe = No
4. We need = I want
5. I am sorry = you'll be sorry
6. We need to talk = you're in trouble
7. Sure, go ahead = you better not
8. Do what you want = you will pay for this later
9. I am not upset = of course I am upset, you moron!
10. You're very attentive tonight = is sex all you ever think about?

I got this from a female friend of mine's and hence wont claim credit for it but thought it worth sharing .

Female visitors please feel free to make corrections , additions as necessary as I atleast am open to learning more on this front constantly .

Just wanted to share a great Poem that can be very consoling for people who have lost a loved one . Its in the form of a letter from the person to those he leaves behind .

Letter from Heaven

To my dearest family, some things I'd like to say...

but first of all, to let you know, that I arrived okay.

I'm writing this from heaven. Here I dwell with God above.

Here, there's no more tears of sadness; here is just eternal love.

Please do not be unhappy just because I'm out of sight.

Remember that I'm with you every morning, noon and night.

That day I had to leave you when my life on earth was through,

God picked me up and hugged me and He said, "I welcome you."

It's good to have you back again; you were missed while you were gone.

As for your dearest family, they'll be here later on.

I need you here badly; you're part of my plan.

There's so much that we have to do, to help our mortal man."

God gave me a list of things, that he wished for me to do.

And foremost on the list, was to watch and care for you.

And when you lie in bed at night, the day's chores put to flight.

God and I are closest to you....in the middle of the night.

When you think of my life on earth, and all those loving years

because you are only human, they are bound to bring you tears.

But do not be afraid to cry; it does relieve the pain.

Remember there would be no flowers, unless there was some rain.

I wish that I could tell you all that God has planned.

But if I were to tell you, you wouldn't understand.

But one thing is for certain, though my life on earth is o'er.

I'm closer to you now, than I ever was before.

There are many rocky roads ahead of you and many hills to climb;

but together we can do it by taking one day at a time.

It was always my philosophy and I'd like it for you too...

that as you give unto the world, the world will give to you.

If you can help somebody who's in sorrow and pain,

then you can say to God at night......"My day was not in vain."

And now I am contented....that my life has been worthwhile,

knowing as I passed along the way, I made somebody smile.

So if you meet somebody who is sad and feeling low,

just lend a hand to pick him up, as on your way you go.

When you're walking down the street, and you've got me on your mind;

I'm walking in your footsteps only half a step behind.

And when it's time for you to go.... from that body to be free,

remember you're not going.....you're coming here to me.

~Author~

Ruth Ann Mahaffey

However have a spared a thought for our everyday unsung heroes , i.e our Mothers, Wives and Sisters who look after us men tirelessly often at the cost of their own health and well being . Do we appreciate them enough ??

Actually even I am guilty in this respect havent even got a bouquest for my wife and mother today .

Truly personally I have felt this in my life bcos right thru my life my mother has always cared for her family often ignoring her aches and pains only to realise that they were early warnings of serious problems like cancer and other issues -- alas only too late to do anything about them . Thankfully she is still alive and ok but these things have anad are taking a toll of her which probably I and we dont appreciate enough and often enough .

Our wives also are a big help and constantly help us to keep our confidence and courage up in the most difficult times and allow us to face whatever come by - I have felt this often .

So spare a though for them while we ponder bigger world stage issues and make Womens days happen more often not only when someone designates a day a womens day and not continue to take them for granted day by day. I will try harder myself ..

Check out this presentation on "Three LIttle words" with some pointers on how we can improve our relationships .

http://show.zoho.com/public/claytond/3%20Little%20Words

FYI - CReated online at www.zoho.com

Enjoy !!

There are 2 kinds of Sucess i.e

1. Sucess coming from Exceptional Natural ability : i.e Sucess in big things and small things that come to people who have the natural power to do things no one else can no matter how much they train or learn

This according to him is very rare the other sucess is fa rmore commonly attainable i.e

2. Success coming from self determination and development : This kind of success is acheived by people who dont posses any extraordinary qualities but have just striven harder to develop these qualities as such . He says that most of the successes acheived in the world is of this type only .

He suggests that one should study how to acheive this type of success rather then the first as if you ahve the first you probably will not need the second in any case as such -but the point here is that there is hope for all to achieve success in their own way .

Also I read somewhere that you need to define success in your own terms taking into account what makes you happy like you could have a great job travelling around the world and think you have suceeeded but possibly you may miss you family too much to be happy at all internally .

What do you think ??