Twenty- five Seven

Why is the slipper called a slipper?

September 10, 2014
Why are pots called pots and books called books? Indeed how did objects get their names? This thought often comes to me especially when I can’t recall the name of an object or get the name wrong.

What’s in a name ? the Bard asked ,

A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.

So is a name just a name? Or does it have some other meaning?

I once read somewhere that while naming a child in China the parents threw some pots in the air and depending on the sounds they heard, the child they named was Tang and Ting or whatever. Obviously this is not true because a Chinaman did explain how he got his name – his family name and his given name. Thus all babies are named with a purpose – either after a loved one, a godparent, a patron saint , a name that is popular in the family, a name that is trending or as some people prefer, a name of God so that every time the child is called, the name of the Lord is invoked.

While naming children is easy what about naming objects? Well most people would say that many objects take their name from their function. For instance a photocopier is called a photocopier because it makes a photographic copy of a document.

Which brings me to the reason for this post – why is a slipper called a slipper? Is it because it is easy to slip on or is it because it slips easily? I found out the reason why yesterday when I performed the perfect split over a tiny bit of water accidentally dropped on the floor.

As usual when accidents are meant to happen they do, and after dinner when the whole household was busy chatting and catching up, I found that I had to fetch something. And before you could say Jack Robinson, I was on the floor with my legs in opposite directions – something which I could never do despite my years of yoga. There was a flurry of activity as everyone came rushing to lift me up, accompanied by Wow Dinga’s wails which grew louder as he sensed something majorly going wrong. Everyone thought I’d hurt my tail bone or worse still my wrist which broke the fall but luckily it was just a bruised knee – one that turned red and will soon turn blue and green before it turns a sickly yellow on its way to normalcy.

That’s when I realised how the slipper got its name – because it is easy to slip when wearing a rubber slipper!

This post is part of the Write Tribe ProBlogger September Challenge
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You only get it right when you really get it right

September 9, 2014

This is the modification of a saying I had heard many years ago

You only learn when you really learn

Now what does this really mean?

In plain and simple terms it means that you only learn from your mistakes.

I have been blogging for quite a while now – 7 years now and it seems by far to be my most consistent activity apart from eating and sleeping which we all just have to do as humans!

The only reason why I have persisted with this is largely because it has been a journey of learning. First it was how to operate the computer. Then it was how to use the different programs. And finally it was getting hooked on to the net.

Getting hooked on to the net was the easy part – what was difficult was adapting to the new changes which happen almost immediately the minute you master something. So essentially you are on a treadmill of learning from which you never really get off! Always you learn something especially from your mistakes . It is the realisation of one’s mistake that teaches you the lesson.

And the best part of this challenge is learning on my own. This kind of learning is so different from traditional learning in classes and through a teaching program that I look forward to pushing my mind every day. Today’s discovery, for instance, was that the Write Tribe September Challenge has a weekly link to which you are supposed to link to.

Linking was something I never understood till today. I figured now that every week there is a different link to which we are supposed to upload our posts………That’s why I found that I couldn’t upload this post to last week’s link.

So this now will be my first post on this link but the second in the week and the 9th post I’ve blogged this month!

Finally! I’ve got it right!!

This is part of the Write Tribe September Challenge
In pursuit of youth

September 8, 2014

The other day I came across the TIME Magazine issue of 16th August where a middle aged man is look bewilderedly at what I assume to be his reflection in the mirror. As he looks at his slightly sagging middle, greying hair and still fairly athletic legs, one can imagine his dismay as he realises that he no longer looks what he did as a teenager or a young adult.
And he is not the only one – all of us are in pursuit of youth and will do anything to delay its onset. We try green tea and ginseng, we try anti oxidants and hormone replacement therapies. We try face lifts and botox and even go to the extent of having cosmetic surgery to keep those muscles from sagging and the hair from thinning. We go to health spas and detox, we exercise like maniacs and minutely watch every calorie that slips past our lips. We use anti wrinkle creams to smoothen those facial lines, colour our hair to cover the grey. We do Yoga and Meditation and keep stress away so that we sleep well and look – younger than we actually are. We even try and dress young so that we don’t look our age.

Sadly though what we fail to acknowledge is that old age will come to us all whether we like it or not. Just as surely as the sun will rise in the East.

So why are we hankering after this elusive goal?

After all old age is not without its benefits –

You get 0.05% more Interest from retail banks on your Fixed deposits
You get concessional fares while travelling on buses, trains and planes
You can get pretty young things to read out labels which you can’t read despite your magnifying lenses
You can get handsome young hunks to help put your bags in the overhead bins
You can cut through queues simply because you are too tired to stand
And you can ask everyone to shut up and stop making a noise because you are old
You can expect people to humour you just because you’re grey
Contrarily you can do just as you please because you’re like a child after all.

But , we still want to be young for a few years more.
Whatever for?

The answer flashed through my mind early this morning
when I tried to get out of bed
and found that my back was sore,
my fingers were stiff and I couldn’t see a thing
without my spectacles.
I couldn’t even find them anywhere near my bed
because I couldn’t remember when I’d last worn them and
where I’d last kept them.
‘Tis moments like this when the bones creak and moan,
when eyesight just fails you as lapses of memory –
that name of your best friend at the tip of your tongue
that stubbornly sticks there when you try to recall.

So do you really want to be younger and live through it all?
The anxiety of growing and not really knowing
How your future will be?

I doubt that’s we want,
We, Golden Oldies

What we really want from our youth is our
Energy and vim
Those eyes that can see and muscles that can lift
The strength of our youth with the wisdom of age
That’s what we want when we
Want to stay young.

This is the 8th Post in the Write Tribe September Challenge