Tales From The Little Masseuse: The poor Old Man.

Often, while I was living in Thailand, the Little Masseuse would tell me stories and tales about her life. One was about a poor old man she knew while she was growing in her small village in Issan in the northeast portion of the country.

Every day the old man spent the daylight hours rummaging through garbage cans for food and other necessities. He especially searched for bits of electrical wire. In the evenings, through well past midnight, he melted down the bits of the wire he found that day, burning off any coating. Every month, he produced about a one-kilogram lump of copper that he sold for about $20. He used this money to augment whatever else he found his dumpster diving. In this way, he worked hard every day and survived. In this way, he was reasonably content with this meager lifestyle. When asked about this he said:

“I have no worries. People always throw away more than even I can ever use, so I get to choose only the best.”

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The Tale of the Old Man.

Often, while I was living in Thailand, the Little Masseuse would tell me stories and tales about her life. One was about a poor old man she knew while she was growing in her small village in the northeast portion of the country.

Every day the old man spent the daylight hours rummaging through garbage cans for food and other necessities. He especially searched for bits of electrical wire. In the evenings, through well past midnight, he melted down the bits of the wire he found that day, burning off any coating. Every month, he produced about a one-kilogram lump of copper that he sold for about $20. He used this money to augment whatever else he found  his dumpster diving. In this way, he worked hard every day and survived. In this way, he was reasonably content with this meager lifestyle. When asked about this he said:

“I have no worries. People always throw away more than even I can ever use, so I get to choose only the best.”

Read Full Post »