Keeping Up Appearances

There are some people in our society who walk with their heads high in pomp pretending to the whole world that all is well with them.

One might have come across some individuals who are always clad in immaculate suits and driving posh cars. However, on visiting their homes, one is greeted by squalor and want.

There is a story of a man who was holding a senior position in one of the private companies.

He invited a very close friend to him for lunch at his home.

After being nourished by a king-size meal, the visitor was told to take a seat on one of the Sofas in the living room.

It was time to go away. The visitor was in the process of standing up, when one leg of his trousers was caught up in a protruding spring.

The trousers was torn by the spring which had dislodged from its position due to wear and tear.

At the time of sitting on the Sofa , he was not aware of this state of affairs.

On realising what had happened, the man vehemently apologised to his friend.

He blamed his wife for not buying new furniture as she was allegedly given money to do so recently.

After a year, the man visited the same family, to his surprise he noticed that the same Sofa was still in their living room, in the same state it was before !

Another man, who was living in a similar style, collapsed suddenly at his home.

He was rushed to the Hospital casualty section. He was taken to the resuscitation room.

In order to attend to him, the nurses had to remove his clothing, which included his under garments.

After removing his immaculate suit, shirt and trousers, the nurses had a tough time to remove his underpants.

It was only after sometime that they realized the underwear's elastic had elongated, and in order to prevent it from falling off the man's waist, it was secured with a safety pin used by mothers for baby napkins.

This safety pin had been part of the napkin set for the man's first born son, who was born some twelve years old back !

During hospital visiting hours, his wife was very embarrassed when she was given the worn out underpants by one of the nurses. She requested her to bring the husband a new pair at the next visit.

These two stories may sound funny, but we have people in our society, who would rather show to the outside world that they lead very high standards of living in their homes . They do this at the expense of depriving their families of the essential needs of their lives. Some children have been known to starve, whilst their parents are always dining out.

Living beyond one's means of life in order to maintain the "status quo" has lead some people to be in great debt and some have even been involved in criminal activities which have landed them in jail.