Flashback in hazy black and white - Years ago (I was around 4-6 years old/young then) they asked me in kindergarten what my dad did for a living. Now mom had taught me, along with my name, age, address, favorite color and nursery rhymes, the fact that my dad was a Mechanical Engineer. I believe I dint even think for a moment, looked at the highly overweight Mrs. Gabriel, and told her with a whiff of confidence that my dad was a "mechanic". I still remember that Mum was very disappointed/agitated/tense once I narrated this incident (probably expecting some kudos from her) to her, coz apparently a mechanic is different from a mechanical engineer.
The main story begins - every time anything stops working in the house (ranging from a toaster to the television) my mom expects Dad to fix it on his own. "What kind of an engineer are you?" she'll begin, "the shower is leaking and you can't even fix that." Dad would try to fix the shower, ensure that it drips even more and then call the plumber. "You are absolutely useless. I wonder how you cleared engineering," Mum would indulge in banter. Once in a while Dad tries to explain that he hadn't exactly taken Introduction to Plumbing 102 in college but Mum doesn't care much. Her logic is simple - "If you can't do her chore, you aint an engineer no more" :)
Now the same thing is coming back to haunt me. My mum asks me over the phone, "The computer is so slow. Why can't you make it fast?" she asks me earnestly. "Mom, that's coz we bought it in 1945 after the Quit India movement. You should be happy that the museum hasn't yet seized it. Why don't you buy a new computer?" I protest in vain. "You are just like your dad. Both of you are of no use to the house. What did you learn in ..." Suddenly we are interrupted by the sound of gushing water. Dad has failed to fix the shower again, making it worse in the process. "Now, I have to call the plumber again," Mum says, while running towards the bathroom, "I think I should have married a plumber."
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Wishful Thinking
How I wish that people were half as generous to me with their money as they are with their advice :)
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1 comment:
this is so true , my father was a lso a mechanical engineer good that i have never come under this circumstance, have u guessed what ur kid will tell ?????
Great Narration of an experience ..too good keep it up.
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