Only The Lonely...
By John J.OCallaghan
Last week I telephoned my eighty eight year old Irish grandmother.
Hi gran I said.This is John. Ive been thinking about you at Christmas
and meaning to call. How are you?
Oh hello John she said.Lovely to hear your voice. Its been ages.
When are you gonna visit?
Maybe this coming Sunday?
That will be wonderful. Ill cook corned beef and cabbage and Ill boil
some potatoes in their skins for you. Well have your favorite jelly trifle
with bananas and custard for after's. Then Ill make you a nice cup of
Barrys tea. Does that sound good to you?
Sounds like great gas to me, gran. What time would you like me to come?
About noon. Is there a possibility you might bring Eithne with you?
EITHNE? What Eithne?
My darling little grand daughter Eithne. Who else?
Gran. I dont have a daughter called Eithne. Are you Mrs.Nuala Flanagan?
No. Im Mrs. Nancy Finnegan.
Oh my God. Im so sorry Mrs. Finnegan. I must have dialed a wrong
number. And she said,
Oh? Does that mean you wont be coming to see me for Christmas?
The Little Pen...
by John J.OCallaghan.
Once upon a time there was a Little Pen who had never done
what pens are designed to do. It never wrote a word. It never wrote
a number. It never drew a doodle nor made a scribble. It never even
made as much as a mark of any kind. It just lay there in a drawer,
beside a notebook, feeling sorry for itself. Finally after years of boring
inactivity, in desperation The Little Pen spoke aloud:
Oh dear, sighed The Little Pen, addressing no one in particular,
and not really expecting an answer, I feel so dysfunctional, useless
and unfulfilled. My whole life has been a complete waste.
The Notebook heard The Little Pens plaintive cry and it said,
I too feel so unfulfilled. All my pages are blank and Id really
appreciate it if you would communicate your thoughts through me.
The Little Pen rolled over toward the Notebook, raised itself up,
and wrote:
To all the lonely peopl
all the sons and daughters
who dont write home to their moms and dads. To all the parents and
families who no longer communicate with their children and each
other. To all the heartbroken lovers who are no longer together because
of some real or imagined hurt or misunderstanding. To all the friends
who have lost touch with each other, all of you, please, please listen to
these words......
If there is something you want to do, something you should do,
anything at all, you should do it now. You may procrastinate as
indeed we all tend to do. You may say to yourself, Whats the
rush? Maybe tomorrow? Theres plenty of time.
But be warned, theres isnt ever enough time. Everything has its
own time and its own place under heaven. If we dont act when
its the time for us to act, we risk losing the opportunity. We might
get a second chance. But then again, we might not.
But maybe you have already left it too late to do some of the
things you would have liked to have done in your life? If so,
youll know that sorrow is a poor comforter. Youll also know that
its not so much the things we do in life, but rather the things we
should have done, but didnt do, that cause us the most pain and
regret.
If only I had............? Four simple little words. But how sad
those little words are. To me they are every bit as sad as,
Goodbye for ever and, I dont love you any more.
People really do need people. I pray that youll never
hear any of those words, nor ever have to say them!
But its never too late to send a letter, note or greeting card.
And there must be at least one special person who would love
to hear from you. Theyll be interested in knowing how you are
and whats been happening in your life. And when you enquire
about whats been happening in their life, theyll know what
a kind, caring, considerate person you are. And you can be sure
theyll reciprocate and reflect back even more warmth and
goodwill. Pretty soon, as friendly greetings, love and best
wishes a
while, the world will seem a much happier place.
Your lonely faraway friend,
The Little Pen.
(JohnOC29(a)aol.com)
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