Once, Irene told me, ‘ The tale began when my family traveled to India. We stayed at this hotel near the shops.
My youngest girl would venture out gingerly to look around, just a few steps from the lobby.’
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The Tale Began As All Tales Do At A Corner Near Shops!
“We would eye her, this fair girl looking out and taking in the sights and colors of India.
She ran back, giggling, collapsed on the sofa, and snorted.”
Irene went to see why.
The Tale Began With THAT Handshake!
“Mum, I’ll show you,” she said.
Her eyes were bright and dancing.
She took Irene’s hand as if to shake it and wickedly tickled her mum’s palm with her little middle finger.
Irene asked, “Now, who taught you that, darling?”
“Oh, this uncle stands at the corner near the steps, next to the potted plant.”
Irene went out after telling her girl to go up to the room.
“Hello,” she said, offering Mr. Man at the Corner , her hand.
He took it and shook hands, and tickled her palm.
Irene stayed calm at that crude sexual innuendo.
Mr. Man at the Corner smiled and said, “Would you like to have sex with me?”
“What do the women do when you say that?”
- Some scream.
- Some slap me.
- Some hit me or called their husbands to beat me up.
- Some call the police.
“So, how long have you been doing this?” she asked, almost flabbergasted.
“Oh, ten years or more…” he winked at her.
“Why do you keep doing that?”
“Aren’t you afraid of being locked up if you can’t run away fast enough when the police get here?”
Are we going up to the room at the top of the stairs?
Mr. Man at the Corner looks at Irene in all seriousness suddenly.
“Sometimes, they say YES!”
I looked at Irene, and we both burst out laughing.
Sometimes, They say YES!
It was silly, but we thought the reward far exceeded the trouble he had to endure.
“Sometimes, they say YES!”
Now, if only we could teach this in motivation class.
Do you know how that would rock the world?
The Motivation Behind How The Tale Began for Us…
I told Lem that story recently when I met him.
He looked a little worn.
We were both equally broke.
He left his job.
I left my job.
We both had dreams of being entrepreneurs without a roadmap.
It was a weekday, a Tuesday, and we were walking the mall.
The feeling was a little strange.
I told him I would probably be at the construction site after a morning’s inspection and looking for economy rice lunch with my contractors.
He said he eats some catered Nasi Melayu in the factory’s cafeteria.
All the Freedom Now but no money…
We laugh.
It was ironic.
We have all the time in the world but no lunch money to buy food.
We could each afford a dollar sundae cone at McD.
Besides, we could always sit in a corner without paying.
It was raining outside the Mall.
I wanted to cheer him up.
Make him laugh a little.
He’s doing MLM full-time.
A lot of products to sell but no buyers.
I told him the Story about The Tale Began As All Tales Do
Elm started to look for a corner near the shops – “what about a room at the top of the stairs? Would that work too?”
Cheeky! YOU!
“Take it with you,” I said.
“Yes, “he replied.
“Sometimes, they say YES!”
Update: 6 June 2020
It’s been several years since I’ve seen Lem. I don’t know where he is now.
What I do know is, looking back, so many things have changed since the first day I went online and learned to blog.
From this first post, when I was clueless and had no idea where to start or what to write, I just jumped on WordPress – it has been a great adventure since I started here.
If you stumbled on this page, I’d be stunned if you did.
If you are thinking of ditching your job and doing something you love, I encourage you to forge ahead. You will never know where you end up NEXT.
And for me, this is just the beginning of my next adventure.
