Thank you dub for your comments. Yes we don't realise how much time we are absent from our family: here is the story for today: 'Awesome - OMR - Stories' - Page 41:
Don’t Go Out In The Rain.
What goes through the mind of a twelve year old lad whose parents uproot him from the school he attended since grade one? His small world collapsed the night his father told the family they were moving to the city.
Did his parents ask him for his opinion? Not on your Nellie. In those times there was a code of ethics in parent groups - children should be seen and not heard.
He went along with the course of action decided by his parents and moved to the city. Grade seven was difficult; he found it hard to make friends, they were not like his friends he’d left behind in the country.
Abuse followed - including intimation, caused him to fall in with the wrong group. He was accepted by this group, a special group of lads similar in age whom couldn’t fit into school. Each hated school and instead fretted away each day getting up to mischief.
One day these so-called friends decided to break into a building and steal. The lad joined in the fray not knowing at the time the consequences this event in his life would become.
One Sunday afternoon the owner of the building where the break and enter took place, came to the lad’s home to interrogate him about the break-in. To the astonishment of the lad, his father stuck up for him to inform the owner his lad wouldn’t do such a thing because he was at school. He believed his son when told he didn’t do it.
This lad felt humiliated and swore to never wag school again. His father punished him by grounding him for six weeks. Not to leave home only to attend school. He’d lost the trust of his father and had to regain it.
When the lad attended school, because he was absent a lot of the time; he never understood any of the teachings in class.
Science was being taught. The teacher said to the class, ‘don’t go out in the rain.’
Everyone in the class, except for the lad, chorused ‘because you’ll dissolve – salt melts in water.’
The lad then and there made a decision. He would gain his father’s trust at whatever cost. To recover from his indiscretion, he decided to pull up his socks and apply his mind to study rather than wag school and hang around with the wrong group.
This was a turning point in his life. If he’d followed his mates down their pathway in life, he would have gone in the wrong direction.
These words, don’t go out in the rain, became his totem.
Whenever a ping shot off in his mind to indicate something wasn’t right, the words, don’t go out in the rain, entered his thoughts and immediately signalled him to stop and think about what he was about to do.
Word count: 482.
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IMPORTANT NOTICE: I'LL BE ABSENT FOR THE NEXT WEEK HAVING A SHORT HOLIDAY. CATCH UP WITH YOU ALL WHEN I RETURN. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT. MUCH APPRECIATED...........PAT