This is a gem of a story told by a good friend, a rubber tapper's son who went on to become a self made millionaire. I remember the gist of it so I'm relating my version with some additions for dramatic effect...
It's story about a man who's successful and think very highly of himself. One day he was on an outstation business meeting to Perak. He drove his fancy car (BMW X1) to the meeting and decided to take the old road back home. His thoughts wandered to the events of the day, he felt he did a great presentation on his proposed project venture and he's confident of it's commercial viability. He quietly told himself " You're the man, smart, cool and successful. Life is good" .
As fate has it, he heard a strange sound coming from the front of the car. He decided to stop by the roadside and as he got out of the car he noticed a signboard that said "Hospital Bahagia, Ulu Kinta". on the fence that surrounded a row of buildings. Laughing to himself, he joked " Of all places, he had to stopped beside an asylum for lunatics"
True enough, his right front tyre was punctured. As it was getting dark soon, he decided to quickly changed the punctured tyre with the spare. Taking out the spare tyre from the bonnet, he proceeded to unscrew the bolts on the wheels. He carefully placed the bolts on top of the spare tyre beside him, mindful of the drainage grating covering the big drain beside him. He then placed down his punctured tyre and picked up the spare and "oops" four of the five bolts dropped "plopped" into the drain grating...and out of sight. He tried to lift up the grating but up to no avail, it was bolted down and welded. (Probably to prevent the rampant theft of iron products prevalent nowadays). There's no way he can retrieve the bolts. While all of this is happening, a young man in an orange uniform was observing him from inside the fence.
Night time is drawing near, he took out his trusty phone...no phone coverage. He cursed his bad luck f@#%&*k s@"?**#, How can a great day turned out to be a nightmare?. He thought of his options, either, he spend the night in the car or get help from any passing cars that might stop. Suddenly, he realised that he was been watched and looked behind him. He noticed the young man in the orange uniform and said quietly " great, a lunatic", smiling sarcastically. The young man asked "Uncle buat apa, tayar pancit ke?". "Nothing" he snapped back and sat down on the ground and sighed "How can I get a tow truck"?."Maybe I can asked this lunatic to get someone sane from inside to help me" Politely as he can managed, he said " Kamu tak faham tapi bole tolong panggil orang tak? The reply from the young man was unexpected and it sliced down to the very deep core of his soul....
Speaking in perfect English, the young man said "Uncle, why don't you opened one bolt from each of the three remaining wheels and use them to bolt down your spare tyre. That way you can drive slowly to the nearest workshop and replace the missing bolts".
"Uncle, I might be crazy but I'm not stupid like you"
Moral
- Life lessons may come from unexpected people, time and place.
- The wisest mind has something yet to learn.
- Much learning does not teach understanding.
- Crazy people aren't always stupid.
- There's always someone smarter than you.
- Don't ever place bolts near a drain cover.
Have a great week guys and gals.
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