Rudyard Kipling"
āWhen you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldierā
General Douglas MacArthur"
āWe are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.ā
āIt is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.ā āOld soldiers never die; they just fade away.
āThe soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.ā
āMay God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .ā āThe object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
āNobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
āIt is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
ON the west coast of Selangor, a 16-year-old enrolled in a school nearby forgets his books in the afternoons after school and weekends. He works like other adults because he has to put food on the table of his home ā a dilapidated hut in a nearby kampung. He is not exactly a caddy who has been trained but he prefers to be called one. Golfers in the nearby club know that he canāt read lines or pick the right clubs, but he like many others his age are mere bag carriers. When thereās a shortage of caddies, he offers to carry two bags. āNo problem,ā he says because that would mean double the money.
Not very far away is the home of yet another man ā a prominent person. When he was 16, he used to cycle in his trusty old banger selling ice cream to pay for his exam fees. Now, several years later, that bicycle is an item of pride, although he has leaped from where he started. But these home is a bungalow with enough space to park six cars. Monthly rental is RM25,000 for the stately home in a posh area overlooking an even bigger golf course.
His meteoric rise to wealth and stardom was due in part to being on the right side of the political divide. Even as a university student, he had yet to step on an aeroplane. Even after graduation, the chance never came until the call of public office came, which he accepted. But he made up for lost time in making sure he gallivanted around the world in the fastest possible time. Within months of sitting on what he perceived as his throne, he was off, flying first class.
Today, he can sit back and boast of his record of sorts. He flew to almost every Disney theme park around the world ā from Hongkong to Orlando. He stayed at presidential suites in posh hotels, travelled in limousines and had no qualms spending millions on other luxuries while the 16-year-old caddy lives in poverty, hoping for handouts from the state. Today, if you want someone to speak authoritatively on theme parks, heās the man. However, he would be insulted if offered a cenderamata or cenderahati for his troubles. Heās worth much more. Continued here....
