And The Moral For Today Is...........

[Malcolm Robinson]

The Stranger

A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger

who was new to our small town. From the beginning,

Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer

and soon invited him to live with our family. The

stranger was quickly accepted and was around

from then on.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my

family. In my young mind, he had a special niche.

My parents were complementary instructors: Mum

taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey.

But the stranger... he was our storyteller. He would

keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures,

mysteries and comedies.

If I wanted to know anything about politics, history

or science, he always knew the answers about the past,

understood the present and even seemed able to predict

the future! He took my family to all sorts of sporting events.

He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The

stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem

to mind.

Sometimes, Mum would get up quietly while the rest of

us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to

say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet.

(I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)

Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions,

but the stranger never felt obligated to honour them.

Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home - not

from us, our friends or any visitors. Our long time visitor,

however, got away with four-letter words that burned my

ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush.

My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol but the

stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made

cigarettes look cool, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished.

He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments

were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally

embarrassing..

I now know that my early concepts about relationships were

influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he

opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked

... And NEVER asked to leave.

More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved

in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly

as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into

my parents' house today, you would still find him sitting over

in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and

watch him draw his pictures.

His name?....

We just call him 'TV.'

He has a wife now....we call her 'Computer.'

Their first child is "Mobile Phone".

Second child "iPod"

Third child "iPad"

[mickypotts]

So now whats the next new stranger????

[Brett]

He's called Keith

[Keith Scantlebury]

He's called Keith

Pardon,? I heard that. I resemble that remark . Ha Ha Ha. They say that I am often found lurking around in dark corners, I think it must be '.cos I'm shy

[Symptoms]

Micky wrote: "So now whats the next new stranger????"

I say it must be Monsta! He must return here.

[Malcolm Robinson]

"Behind Winston's back the voice from the telescreen was still babbling away about pig-iron and the overfulfilment of the Ninth Three-Year Plan. The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard."

[keith lockey]

"Behind Winston's back the voice from the telescreen was still babbling away about pig-iron and the overfulfilment of the Ninth Three-Year Plan. The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard."

Good old Eric Blair (George Orwell) I bet he is saying "I told you so." now.