A great inventor

A great inventor

It is surprising what a man can achieve with imagination and hard work put together. 

Yet how few of us achieve it. It is futile to say that some are too poor and others too rich to put in the required amount of effort and the necessary amount of concentration. 

There is an inexplicable something in the makings of a genius. That is why he is a genius! Thomas Alwa Edison,

 the great American inventor with more than one thousand patents to his credit, was one such man. Not at all bright in the ordinary sense of the word, hard of hearing and frequently absent from school, he was earning eight to ten dollars per day at the age of twelve and was the owner of several newspapers and vegetable shops. 

This was the result of initiative and hard work and not of necessity for his parents were fairly well-to-do and could give him a reasonable amount of pocket money. Born on 11 February 1847 in Ohio, he moved with his parents to Port Huron in 1854 where his father became a dealer in grain and cattle feed.

His father Samuel Edison came from a line of long living, hard-working people of Dutch origin and his mother was of an American Quaker family. He perhaps inherited his shrewdness, and his ability to assess people from his mother and the capacity of hard work from his father. Thomas Edison started earning money right from the age of nine and from then onwards he never looked back.

Edison's first invention came at the age of sixteen, when he invented a gadget for the automatic transmission of an hourly signal; this he followed up with an automatic vote recorder for recording of votes in the congress. When the politicians laughed at the idea, he realized that an invention should not only be useful but should also he in demand. Later he was to learn that the price of an invention should be measured not according to the effort and labor put in but according to its value to the purchaser. This he learnt when he went to finalize the deal with Marshall Lefferts, the President of the Gold and Stock Telegraph Company for a stock-ticker which he had invented. He went determined to ask for $3,000 but felt too timid to do so. Timidity paid him dividends for Marshall Lefferts offered him $40,000 with which Edison was able to start a factory.

Edison was not content with merely making money. It was only of secondary importance for it helped him continue his research and experiments. He was responsible for at least fifty different inventions connected with telegraphy. He also invented the quadruplex communication system by which four messages could he sent simultaneously. He also invented what is now known as a stencil, and paraffined paper for wrapping toffees. Edison used his imaginative faculties to the full. Amongst his major inventions is the phonograph or what is commonly known as the gramophone. He first used it to record telegraphic messages but as the paper made a musical noise while rotting. the idea occurred to him that it could also be used for recording music and the human voice. Having very little taste for music he was quite surprised when demands poured in from the Germans for records of classical music. He himself visualized it mainly as a business and educational aid.

Amongst other notable inventions were his inventions related to the world of electricity. He invented the carbon filament electric lamp and erected the first central electric power station in New York. Though he made no direct contribution to communication, he patented a system of wireless communication by electrostatic induction. Edison also devised the first cinema camera and made the first commercial motion pictures.

As a person, he was naive and simple but once exposed to the tricks of the commercial world he was quick to develop a business acumen and play his part in the world of business. He was a shrewd judge of character and was also very lucky in having talented young men to work for him who later became inventors in their own right. Henry Ford was among the talented amen who worked for him. Edison's first marriage took place in 1871, which was perhaps a romantic marriage. But his wife died in 1889 and Edison remarried, this time a good eighteen years his junior. His life acquired a different tone after that but he lacked the finer delicacies of parental life. absorbed as he was in his work. He died in 1931 at the age of 84. His life is an example of what can be achieved by people who may not be brilliant in the conventional sense of the word.

A day in the life of a waiter ( Imagine that you are the waiter )

A day in the life of a waiter ( Imagine that you are the waiter )

Life as a waiter has multiple advantages. Not that it is all pleasure and no drudgery. Its greatest advantage is the crowd of people one meets.

 As a waiter does not meet them at a social level, there is no question of being involved. Nobody seems to mind the waiter. People sit and talk over cups of coffee and plates of sandwiches, over hamburgers and lunches and dinners and they pay little heed to the shadow figure hovering around their table, catering to their requirements and bringing things to and fro. They discuss business deals and family affairs; they discuss problems, delinquent children as well as courtships and marriages. A waiter can, if he so desires, become a very knowledgeable person simply by listening to these conversations. He also learns about the happenings in town and may become the best informed person regarding the scandals, next perhaps only to the barber.

I took this job up as a temporary measure when I had just finished school and was on the look out for an opening. But it has so far proved fairly lucrative and I am happy and so I am still working as a waiter after four years.

We can afford to begin our day lazily for it stretches into the night. Yet we are seen as being very lazy. So by nine the day beings with cleaning and polishing of the tables and the silver. Except for one or two stray clients, the real arrival of customers is only at about 11:00 am. For about half-an-hour or a little later students from the university, businessmen, office workers and bank employees turn up. Other periods of peak activity are the lunch time from about 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm and then the evenings from 6:30 pm to 7:00 pm or so. I don't really care very much for the rush hours in terms of work, but it is the best time for tips - all kinds of tips - money and information. As for work, one is kept on one's toes, rushing to and from and often there are quarrels and violent disagreements in the kitchen when everyone wants to get his order complied with first, when the cooks are also hot and harassed and the manager is also curt and impatient.

My job becomes very difficult at such times for inside the kitchen I have to be aggressive or the cooks would not attend to me at all, and outside the kitchen I have to be polite and courteous, the perfect gentlemen-waiter. So a complete switch-over of behavior has to take place. But towards the fag-end of the lunch hour, one can relax for by then only the leisurely business crowd is left. They linger over their meals when they want to strike a deal. It is a tithe that they reveal a great deal about investments. (And one can benefit from eavesdropping.) Moreover, if the deal is an important one, the host is liberal with tips.

Besides the businessmen, people who tip fairly handsomely are young lovers or a mature couple celebrating an anniversary. Never expect anything from college students. But those in love have eyes for nothing else but each other and in their joy they want to share their happiness. Everyone loves a lover. I have often watched love traveling its normal course through desire, happiness, courting, adoration, worry and uncertainly towards love and maturity and marriage.

What I detest most is the late hour when the customers do not move, when perhaps only those who have no homes linger in restaurants. By the end of the evening, one is tired and ready to sleep, ready also never to think of becoming a waiter. Yet the next morning the day begins and one is back at work ! This is the law of nature.

Lazy Jack

Lazy Jack Once upon a time, in a small village, a lazy boy called Jack lived with his mother. 

He was so lazy that he found it very difficult to move even his fingers. His mother worked as a servant maid in town homes and earned for herself and her son. People started to call him Lazy Jack and Jack's mother was totally irritated and worried about her son. One day, she fell sick and was feeling fever severely. She was bed-ridden for two days and could not go to work. She asked her son to earn something for them; otherwise there won't be anything to eat. Lazy Jack finally understood her mother's health and their poverty. He promised her mother to bring something and went on to search for a work. A farmer offered him work in his land and paid two pennies for Jack's work. Jack thanked him and rushed to home with the pennies in hand. As he was running to home, he did not notice the pennies rolled down from his hand. He could not find the coins and reached home with unhappy face. He told the incident to his mom. Jack's mom told him, 'dear Jack, next time, you put them in your pocket, so that they won't fall!' The next day, a milkman offered Jack a job. Jack was offered a jar of milk as wages for his work. As told by his mother, he poured the milk into his pocket and ran towards his mom. His mom recognized what would have happened after seeing Jack's dress. She told him,' Jack, you should have carried the milk jar on your head. Don't worry. But be careful next time!' Next time also Jack worked for the milkman and he went to the milkman's farm early in the morning. The work got completed before the noon and Jack was paid a bar of cheese for his work. Jack was happy and as told by his mother, he carried the cheese bar on his head. Since it was a sunny day and very hot in the noon, all the cheese melted away. Jack told his mom that all cheese melted. His mother told, he should have carried the cheese in his hands and asked him to do correctly next time. The next day, he went to work in cattle. The owner of the cattle farm offered him a little kitten for him towards wages as Jack liked the kitte

n very much. He carried the kitten on his hands. The little kitten jumped from his hands and ran away. Jack was sad and told his mother he lost the kitten too. His mom told,

 he should have tied a rope and dragged the kitten on the road. For the next two days, he went to work in a farm again and returned home with a huge piece of meat. He tied the meat with a rope and dragged it on the road. The meat was spoiled and his mom shouted at him as he could not do anything properly. Later sometime, she consoled him and told him that he should have carried the meat on his shoulders. Jack went to nearby town for work and returned home after a week. For his hard work, he was rewarded with a donkey and he carried the donkey on his shoulders. 

 A young girl around 8 years of age who saw Jack carrying the donkey on shoulders started to laugh and she laughed continuously for long time. Her dad, who was the richest person in the town, was so happy and was in tears.

 He thanked Jack as he made her daughter laugh after 5 years. Jack realized his mistakes and foolishness he done then and before.

 But at the same time his foolishness made that rich man's daughter laugh.

 He took the rich man and his daughter to his home. The rich man offered them work and shelter in his bungalow. From that incident, he tried to do everything properly without any mistakes and foolishness and they lived happily ever after!

Ek Maa Ki Kahani|| A Sad Story About Mother 

 ہوٹل میں کھانا کھانے گیا۔ ماں باپ تو نہیں چاہتے تھے لیکن بیٹے کی خواہش تھی کہ وہ انہیں کسی مہنگے ہوٹل میں ضرور کھانا کھلائے گا اسی لیے اس نے اپنی پہلی تنخواہ ملنے کی خوشی میں ماں باپ جیسی عظیم ہستیوں کے ساتھ شہر کے مہنگے ہوٹل میں لنچ کرنے کا پروگرام بنایا.

باپ کو رعشے کی بیماری تھی، اُسکا جسم ہر لمحہ کپکپاہٹ میں رہتا تھا، اور ضعیفہ ماں کو دونوں آنکھوں سے کم دیکھائی دیتا تھا یہ شخص اپنی خستہ حالی اور بوڑہے ماں باپ کے ہمراہ جب ہوٹل میں داخل ہوا تو وہاں موجود امیر لوگوں نے سر سے پیر تک اُن تینوں کو یوں عجیب و غریب نظروں سے دیکھا جیسے وہ غلطی سے وہاں آ گئے ہوں.

کھانا کھانے کیلئے بیٹا اپنے دونوں ماں باپ کے درمیان بیٹھ گیا وہ ایک نوالہ اپنی ضیعفہ ماں کے منہ میں ڈالتا اور دوسرا نوالہ بوڑھے باپ کے منہ میں۔ کھانے کے دوران کبھی کبھی رعشے کی بیماری کے باعث باپ کا چہرہ ہل جاتا تو روٹی اور سالن کے ذرے باپ کے چہرے اور کپڑوں پر گر جاتے۔ یہی حالت ماں کے ساتھ بھی تھی، وہ جیسے ہی ماں کے چہرے کے پاس نوالہ لے جاتا تو نظر کی کمی کے باعث وہ انجانے میں ادھر اُدھر دیکھتی تو اس کے بھی منہ اور کپڑوں پر کھانے کے داغ پڑ گئے تھے۔

اِردگرد بیٹھے لوگ جو پہلے ہی انہیں حقیر نگاہوں سے دیکھ رہے تھے، وہ اور بھی منہ چڑانے لگے کہ کھانا کھانے کی تمیز نہیں ہے اور اتنے مہنگے ہوٹل میں آ جاتے ہیں بیٹا اپنے ماں باپ کی بیماری اور مجبوری پر آنکھوں میں آنسو چھپائے، چہرے پر مسکراہٹ سجائے۔ اِردگر کے ماحول کو نظرانداز کرتے ہوئے ایک عبادت سمجھتے ہوئے انہیں کھانا کھلاتا رہا

کھانے کے بعد وہ ماں باپ کو بڑی عزت و احترام سے واش بیسن کے پاس لے گیا، وہاں اپنے ہاتھوں سے انکے چہرے صاف کیے کپڑوں پر پڑے داغ دھوئے اور جب وہ انہیں سہارا دیتے ہوئے باہر کی جانب جانے لگا تو پیچھے سے ہوٹل کے مینجر نے آواز دی اور کہا  بیٹا تم ہم سب کیلئے ایک قیمتی چیز یہاں چھوڑے جا رہے ہو.

اُس نوجوان نے حیرانگی سے پلٹ کر پوچھا کیا چیز مینجر اپنی عینک اُتار کر آنسو پونچھتے ہوئے بولا نوجوان بچوں کیلئے سبق اور بوڑھے ماں باپ کیلئے امید.

اللہ تبارک تعالیٰ جنکی ماں باپ زندہ ہے ان کو لمبی عمر عطا فرمائے اور جن کی ماں باپ وفات پا گئی ہے ان کو اللہ تبارک و تعالی جنت الفردوس میں اعلی مقام عطا فرمائے. آمین ❤