QC Misses AdventureMan
Just seconds after AdventureMan was out the door this morning, Qatteri Cat came in crying, carrying his baby. He often does that when AdventureMan leaves. I am good for giving fresh water, giving food and providing warmth. AdventureMan is his true love, and the Qatteri Cat grieves for him when he leaves, crying piteously.
This last summer when I was on vacation with my family, my sister’s grandson, 18 months old, would light up and shout her husband’s name every time he saw him.
“Gooey!” he would shout, his eyes alight and run for his Grandpa. My sister, who was working patiently and lovingly with him to learn her name wasn’t even on his radar – at that stage, he was more focused on men – his Dad, his Grandpa and another uncle he called “Nom!”
My sister would say “what am I, chopped liver?” which always scared me, because kids pick up on things we DON’T want them to pick up on, and what if he started calling her Chopped Liver???
But this morning, when Qatteri Cat is inconsolable at the loss of his favorite, I feel a little like chopped liver. 
Indian Drivers the Worst
When it came time to get a driver’s license, it wasn’t important to me. I was living in a place with great public transportation. When I finally decided to learn to drive, I took driving lessons. My best friend, still my friend to this very day, would take me out driving. One time my car stalled in the middle of a crowded intersection, the light changed, and I was almost out of my mind with panic.
My friend calmly said “You’re doing just fine. Take a breath. You have time. Start the car, and complete the turn.” She didn’t sound worried at all – only later did I discover how terrified she was. She held it together. I will owe her to the end of my life for her loyalty to me and for her patience with me.
This is from the Arab Times. My mistake – I thought Kuwait was the deadliest spot on earth to drive. Not so – the Indians take that cake:
Good luck needed as Indians drive themselves to death
MUMBAI, Oct 23, 2008 (AFP) – The Good Luck Motor Training School in Mumbai is aptly named, according to its owner, Sohail ‘Raja’ Kappadia, who says luck is exactly what you need to drive on India’s roads.
Kappadia knows it only too well: a friend recently became another of the country’s shocking fatal road accident statistics, while one of his pupils has just rammed into the back of another car during a lesson.
‘Sometimes you just don’t know if the guy in front is going to brake,’ he told AFP with a shrug. ‘Presence of mind is a must here. Most of the accidents in Mumbai are due to rash negligence.’
India has the dubious distinction of being the deadliest place in the world to drive.
The country has 10 percent of the estimated 1.2 million road deaths worldwide, according to the International Road Federation in Geneva.
Mortality rates on Indian roads are 14 per 10,000 vehicles, compared to less than two per 10,000 in developed countries, the World Bank has said.
And by the end of the next decade, the organisation predicted that road deaths will overtake those from deadly diseases and most of the fatalities will be pedestrians.
It is not difficult to see why.
Drivers here run the gauntlet of speeding taxis, weaving auto-rickshaws, trucks and buses as well as hand-carts and cows on congested, pot-holed roads, some of which have remained largely unchanged since the end of the colonial era more than 60 years ago.
At the same time they have to be on their guard against stray dogs and jaywalking pedestrians, forced into the road by the clutter of street vendors, crumbling pavements or crossings.
Meanwhile laws governing the wearing of seatbelts and a ban on using mobile phones at the wheel are frequently flouted, indicators are seldom used and at night drivers often fail to switch on their headlights.
Motorcyclists riding without helmets with pillion passengers perched behind are a common sight.
For a learner driver, Shahik Arqam looks unfazed by such experiences.
‘It’s a little bit difficult but I know how other drivers work,’ the 24-year-old architect said.
During an hour-long lesson in a battered right-hand drive Hyundai Santro, Arqam has had to be alert.
Other drivers made no allowance for the red L-plates and warning triangle displayed prominently on the car.
Instead he was treated like any other road user and blasted by a chorus of car horns for driving too slowly, failing to pull away quickly enough from traffic lights or for stalling.
Filtering vehicles from the left failed to give way as he headed down the main road to Churchgate railway station, and he had to hold his nerve as cars swerved in and out of lanes in the tussle for pole position.
Mohsin Ali, an instructor for 12 years, takes Mumbai’s chaotic roads in his stride, gently issuing either verbal instructions or hand signals to his pupil as the car picked its way through the heavy mid-afternoon traffic.
‘If you follow the traffic rules then it’s very easy,’ the 39-year-old said afterwards. ‘Compared to Calcutta (Kolkata) and Madras (Chennai) the traffic is better here.’
To be sure, the Mumbai authorities have been trying to make the roads safer.
Roadsigns reminding drivers to belt up, only use the horn when necessary — rather than in constant cacophony, as encouraged by the ‘horn please’ request painted on the rear of many vehicles — and not use their mobile phones have appeared across the city.
Signs also remind motorcyclists to wear helmets and there has been a crackdown on drink-driving.
Some 632 people died in what the Indian media calls road traffic ‘mishaps’ in Mumbai in 2007, but by the end of August that had fallen to 377, according to police figures.
Kappadia agrees that better driver training is a must if safety is to be improved on India’s roads, particularly as private car ownership increases on the back of the country’s strong economic growth.
The 33-year-old said he would ban heavy goods vehicles from cities during the day, toughen sentences for drink-drivers, improve road infrastructure and spread the message that speed kills, especially among the young.
Some welcome measures have been taken, such as raising entry standards and lowering age limits for truck drivers, but more needs to be done, he said.
In the meantime, the Indian driving mantra of ‘good brakes, good horn, good luck’ will have to do.
Operation Hope Needs Shoes, Blankets and Men’s Clothing
Thanks for getting the word out! Seems we’ll be getting the shoe drive going as of November 1st with AUK as our drop point. Bazaar will be featuring an article with the details in their November issue so to plug in I encourage you to pick up a copy of the magazine.
Blankets & trousers are also high on the “need” list. Serious donors should email us on operationhopekuwait@yahoo.com for details on where to drop your new or gently used items.
Blessings,
Sheryll Mairza
OPERATION HOPE – KUWAIT
Founder & Director
90 Year Old Kuwaiti Overdoses on Heroin?
This is very hard for me to imagine:
Citizen dies of heroin overdose
Al Watan staff
KUWAIT: A citizen in 90s died on Wednesday at his house in Jabriya due to an overdose of heroin. After the Operation Room received a phone call from the family informing them that the Kuwaiti man suddenly fainted, police officers and medical teams rushed to the house. The man was taken to the hospital by paramedics but passed away. Forensic police examined the corpse and confirmed that a drug overdose was the main cause of death.
Rejected Suitor Rapes Kuwaiti Woman
Al Watan staff
KUWAIT: A young Kuwaiti woman has filed a case against a man who raped her after she rejected his marriage proposal. The woman explained that the young man who asked to marry her had been found out to be a liar. Among other things, he lied about his nationality, claiming to be Kuwaiti when he was not. He also claimed to have huge sums of money when in fact he was not as well off as he initially claimed. After being rejected, the man reportedly waited outside her house and kidnapped her as she walked towards her car. He then drove her to a remote area and raped her.
What incredible courage this young woman has going public. What backing she must have from her family. This is, unfortunately, not a rare occurance. What on earth are these men thinking? Is he trying to ruin her chances of marrying anyone else? Is this rape a punishment?
Blogging About AdventureMan
AdventureMan and I were having dinner out and I was telling him how a friend had mentioned reading something in my blog. I was surprised, because although I told her a long time ago – when I first started blogging – she had never mentioned the blog. She has a lot on her hands and I always thought she might have forgotten about it. We always have a lot to talk about and it had never come up.
“It’s not like people who know you blog HAVE to read your blog.” AdventureMan said.
“I totally agree,” I agreed.
“I don’t have any expectations that anyone read just because they know I write it. Even YOU!” I said to AdventureMan.
“But I do read it, most of the time!” he said, and I am glad, because he keeps me honest, more or less, and he also keeps me from saying anything too inflammatory, or giving away too much personal information.
But his eyes were laughing.
“What’s so funny?” I asked, and he couldn’t answer, he was laughing so hard. His eyes started watering, you know how when you are laughing and can’t stop.
“I can’t tell you!” he gasped. I just kept silent and kept looking at him expectantly with a big smile on my face, because I was pretty sure he would give in if I just gave him a chance.
“OK! OK! I’m just so embarrassed to tell you this!” he started, but again, he was laughing so hard he could barely continue.
“OK, OK, I know your blog is YOUR thing, it’s not all about m – m – m – m . . . ” He could not continue, he was laughing so hard.
“It’s not about m – m – me!” He choked out thinly, breathless from so much laughing.
“But the first thing I do. . . . (laugh laugh laugh, swipe at eyes) . . . the first thing I do when I go to your blog is to do a quick scan to see if you mentioned ME!”
At his point we are both laughing. It really is funny. He loves being AdventureMan.
So, AdventureMan, here is one whole entry, entirely about YOU. 🙂
Hearts, Hands and Hope
Opportunities for you from Operation Hope – Kuwait:
Thank You all baking volunteers:
We at Operation HOPE want to express our thanks to all our baking volunteers for their beautifully packed and labeled donations. We appreciate your extra effort and work of excellence to support our mission. And a special thanks to Jaye Lynn and Emily Lester for manning the sales table!
Thank You all Tent clearance and inventory volunteers:
What a blessing when men, women and children, who represent multiple nations can come together for the good of mankind. Many hands did make for lighter work. As our tent was cleared, inventoried and then restocked. We are able to do what we do because of you.
Volunteers needed:
We are happy to announce our very first packing schedule for winter apparel for this year on Saturday October 18, 2008 from 7am to 10:30 am. At this time our goal is to pack 3000 bags each, with a set of thermal underclothing, pair of socks, pair of gloves and cap. Lend your help packing a few bags or all 3000 bags; but DO lend us your help. Please RSVP your commitment ASAP.
Flea market Saturday October 25, 2008:
Operation HOPE will have a Flea market at the OH head quarters (Rumaithiya, Block 9, Street 92, House 23) at 7am to 12 noon. We will be selling books, small appliances, electronics, gently used household items etc. All proceeds of the sale go to Operation Hope. We encourage you to spread the word around and bring in at least one friend with you.
Volunteers needed: to set up the items for the flea market, Friday, October 24, 2008 at 3 PM. Please RSVP your commitment to help as soon as possible.
Volunteers needed: to help at the Flea Market with sales and clean-up, Saturday, October 25th from 6:30 AM – 12:30 PM. Your RSVP is appreciated as soon as possible.
Laptop Needed:
The Operation HOPE administration has grown considerably and we require a mobile tool to keep on top of our busyness. We appreciate your consideration towards the contribution of a NEW laptop.
What Poverty Does to US (Blog Action Day 2008)
Today, Blog Action Day 2008, we are to write about poverty.
There are many levels of poverty, and I have seen the worst. I have seen people without the very most basic necessities of life, without enough food, without a safe place to spend the night, people who would sell their baby for another fix, people who live in filth. The very worst thing about poverty is what it does to those who see it, but are not poor – it hardens our hearts.
The overwhelming nature of poverty, the knowledge that we can only do so much, that our efforts are like little drops in a great sea, it can make you turn away from doing anything at all. Afraid to feel to much, we build a wall around our hearts, so we won’t have to feel. We judge, we walk away.
So who is poor? Does not God look at our hearts? He teaches us that the poorest of the poor, who shares one crust of bread with another, is more merciful than the donor who gives generously out of abundance. If we harden our hearts, if we turn away from these problems, who then is poor? Do we not have a deep inner problem, a severe inner poverty, a poverty of spirit?
One of the great God-jokes I see as I live my life is how what we see and what we learn is often the opposite of what God teaches us. He tells us not to put our faith on earthly treasures, our cars, our houses, our material possessions. He tells us the greatest wealth of all is in giving it all away and serving him.
As the financial markets dip and twirl on the roller coaster of doubts and fears and perceptions, as people watch their life savings dwindle, will we learn our lesson? (Can you hear God laughing?)
One of the great secrets of wealth is giving it away – ask Warren Buffet, the richest man in the world, or Bill Gates. They have made fortunes, walked away and given abundantly of their wealth to make the world a better place. God smiles on them. They learned the secret.
When you help the poor, you are blessed.
There is a story we tell volunteers about a little boy along the seashore. Thousands of starfish are stranded on the shore as the tide recedes and a man watches as the little boy picks up starfish and throws them out into the ocean, one at a time. After watching a while, he shouts at the boy “Give it up! There are so many starfish! You can’t save them all!” and the little boy, without pausing, shouts back “But I can save THIS one!”
I worked for a year with homeless families. As I worked with them, I found myself learning from their stories, and from their determination to make a better life for their children. Working with the homeless is like throwing starfish back into the sea. Some might make it and others won’t. There are dark days, days when you feel overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of those who need your help. By focusing on what you CAN do, you hope to make a difference, even in the life of just THIS family, or that child.
We need to ask ourselves, those of us who live in abundance, how can we receive this blessing, the blessing of working with and/or giving to the poor? Is there a food closet that needs your donations and your weekly volunteer effort? Is there a mosque or church that uses volunteers to serve a daily meal to the poorest of the poor? Is there a sandwich delivery to the street poor? Is the Salvation Army active in your area? Are there decent clothes in your closet which you have outgrown? Are there pillows or blankets you could donate to Operation Hope Kuwait? How can you serve the poor? How can you receive this blessing?
Donations of your time, your energy, your vision will not only be a small contribution towards improving the world one small act at a time, it will also lessen the soul-deadening impact of poverty, it will be a blessing to YOU. Working together, people can make a difference. You can make a difference in the life of the poor. You can make a difference, by serving, in your own life.
Not Much Into Cute, But . . .
Today a friend sent this in the e-mail. I am not a great fan of cute . . . but oh, this is just too cute!
It might be that you need to be a cat person to think it is adorable – Qatteri Cat and I agreed that this one was special.
And . . QC asks . . .Have you made your reservation for the Animal Friends Quiz Night?”
Morality Police Accuse Married Couple of Being Alone Together
This is one weird story. Saw it in today’s Kuwait Times, but it is not on the online version, so I had to copy it from the Arab News website. The woman’s family and the man’s family all verified that this couple are married, but they are continually harassed by the morality police, saying they are not married.
Vice cops accused of attacking married couple in Madinah
Fatima Sidiya I Arab News
JEDDAH: A 22-year-old Saudi woman told Arab News yesterday that she and her husband of four years were stopped on a road by the religious police of Al-Jurf, west of the holy city of Madinah, accused of being an unrelated man and woman in an illegal state of seclusion (khulwa) at about 1 a.m. on Sunday.
“As we were driving home, my husband and I realized we were being followed by three men in a car,” said the woman, who did not want her name published. “They were coming from both sides of the car and (at one point in the chase) were also in front of our car. I was afraid of having an accident. The whole scene looked just like something in a movie.”
She also said that because no police officer was accompanying the three members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, her husband was afraid to stop. Eventually, the commission vehicle got in front of the car they were pursuing and forced the couple to stop, according to the woman.
Abdullah Al-Zahrani, the head of the Madinah branch of the commission, confirmed to Arab News yesterday that the commission was tailing the couple, but he maintains that the three commission members did not abuse the suspects. He also claims that the two are not married.
“The woman is neither his wife nor his cousin,” said Al-Zahrani.
When asked if the police, in response to the woman’s complaint, had questioned the commission members over what happened early Sunday morning, he said the police did not seek any clarification. “The police did not question the commission members, as they (the commission) are a monitoring body, which hands suspects over to the police for further investigation,” he said.
The couple has filed a complaint and the Commission for Investigation and Prosecution is looking into the case.
Relatives have come out in defense of the commission’s denial that the two are married. According to the woman, a commission member told her husband: “If you bring everybody in your family to tell me she is your wife, I will not believe them. You are lying; she is not your wife.”
According to the woman, she and her husband had been visiting her husband’s family and decided to return home late at night.
After the two were pulled over, said the woman, “one of them pulled my arm and was shouting at me, telling me to get into their car. I was shocked. How could a man from the commission touch a woman when he is not her mahram (a woman’s legal male escort or guardian)? He ordered me to get into the commission car and said they would keep everything secret in order to protect my reputation.”
The commission considers unrelated men and women in cars to be committing the moral crime of khulwa.
The woman said that her husband objected to her treatment, and asked the men to take him in custody instead. At that point, the woman said an older man who happened to be passing by intervened and protested against the commission members touching a woman, “but the commission member told him that I had forced him to do so.”
The woman says that two of the commission members got into her husband’s car with her and accused her of being an immoral woman for being out late at night with an unrelated man. The members of the commission also said that the woman had committed a crime and that she therefore deserved to be punished.
“This is the first time I have seen anything like this,” she said. “One of the members was totally unreasonable and was aggressive from the start. He didn’t want to hear anything that contradicted his set ideas and beliefs. He looked to be in his late 20s. Only one of the three was rational and wanted to talk to us away from the public eye. But he then went and got into their car. The members refused to come to the police during the investigation and said that I had insulted them. I did no such thing; I simply told them over and over: ‘I swear to God that I am this man’s wife.’”
The woman said that after hearing what had happened, her brothers went to the commission branch in Al-Jurf, furious and telling the commission members to stay away from their sister.
She said a commission member then hit one of her brothers and broke his nose.
“My brother became unconscious and an ambulance came and took him to the hospital,” she said.
Then, in anger another brother erroneously went to the wrong commission center to retaliate against the attack on his brother. He was then arrested.
But the police reportedly released the two brothers after confirming their identities. The woman claims that the local police view this particular branch of the commission as problematic.
Maj. Muhsin Al-Radadi, a spokesman for the Madinah police, said that the only reports they received about this incident were about the brother who went to the incorrect commission center.
“The commission members (at Al-Azizia commission branch) were attacked in their offices by a young man,” he said, adding that he wouldn’t comment on hearsay regarding the other events.
“We were not doing anything that was remotely immoral or inappropriate,” said the woman. “Even my eyes were covered. The members shamed us in the area where we live and my husband and I cannot now go out of the house.”
She says that the incident has instilled fear in her about venturing out of the house.
“I will not go to a public place or anywhere in a car unless a lot of my family is with me,” she said.
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