Speak Softly, Or The Universe Might Hear You

      I don’t know what to call it: karmic justice? what you sow, you reap? poetic justice? what goes around , comes around? Live by the sword, die by the sword thing? Or just a simple unfortunate incident caused by unhealthy eating and drinking habits. You see, there’s this man in our neighborhood, he’s in his fifties, a tricycle driver, quite harmless, always ready to help when there’s some helping needed, isn’t troublesome,—except that he’s a loudmouth. He loved to talk and engage every one in a conversation but he couldn’t speak in a normal voice. His voice was always loud and booming, you could hear it even when you’re a mile away. The people in our place had grown tired of admonishing him to turn his voice a bit down. Worse, he’s an early bird, he’d be up around five or six in the morning and would start engaging people in a conversation, or worse, in an argument, while waiting for his regular passengers, in effect waking up people  sleeping in houses around them, annoying them. But what could he do? He loved to talk and he had a loud voice.

      Then, around three weeks ago, we heard that he had a stroke. And the only thing that was paralyzed in him was not an arm nor a leg but his tongue. He can’t speak now, he can only moan and groan, gone is the booming, no-need-for-a-megaphone annoying voice. And people in our place could only shake their heads in disbelief in its irony.

     But the good news, doctors are saying that medicines and therapy can still help him. The bad news is, it will take time and is quite expensive.

     I think the lesson here is that one should always be mindful of things that you do that annoy or bother people because the universe has a way of making things right. Or putting you in your place. 

     But at least, for now, Michael Buffer's job is safe.