Wednesday, September 5, 2007
If there is a WILL
Somewhere in between Khalida Zia’s arrest and Salman Khan’s bail, this particular news caught my eye. The hotel heiress Leona Helmsey’s controversial will. For those of you, preoccupied with the more important matters of the world. This multimillionaire has left a whooping twelve million dollars of her fortune to her pet dog . This serves as a reminder for the people who believe in rebirth and have been doing noble stuff in life to avoid being reborn as a dog. People, its not that bad being born an animal.
After spending a moment, obsessing over the dog’s fate and wanting to read its palm*(if it has one). My mind drifted off to the heiress. Why would she have done something so.. err.. stupid ?? It could be the fear that her beloved pet would be abandoned after her death. Or it could be, like all the newspapers profess, her undying love for the dog. Trying to justify her actions, I got reminded of another incident.
I had a friend who used to carry a dirty, torn bag of hers to college everyday. I randomly asked her why she couldn’t get herself a better bag and throw this one off. She replied “This is the one thing which stays with me when everyone else leaves”. If she ever had to write a will, she would have left a lumpsum amount for her bag, I swear. [Friend mentioned here, if you read this please call me. I lost your number]. I joke about this to my roomie too. When our cabbie* gives us a call, I say “He’s my true love. He doesn’t forget to give me a call no matter what”. That’s the idea- someone who stays with us inspite of everything.
All of us have those thunderbolt moments in our life. The moments when the people we have loved, cared , sacrificed many a thing for tend to be ungrateful. And we are left heart broken and shattered, repenting every emotion of ours wasted for that person. At such dark hours the ones who stay with us, we realize, are the only ones who are true to us. This could be God for some, parents for some others, a pet dog or even a bag .
If I ,at this young age of twenty four (Compared to the eighty seven year old Leona not the teenagers trotting on the road) have a priority list in my diary, imagine the life of the heiress. In her long and probably eventful life the number of heartbreaking incidents of ingratitude she would have faced. The moments which made her realize that her dog more than anyone else is the only one faithful to her. And being a multimillionaire all her hurt and revenge seeking pain came out in the form of her will. She has intelligently included the line “for reasons which are known to them” as to why two of her grand children got nothing.
So what if I had to write a will ?(Right now for my 50 Rupee bank balance) Who would I give it to? Without second thoughts to my mom. And I am sure Leona would have done the same if hers was alive.
* I am supposed to be good at palmistry
*My cab driver gives me a missed call before coming to pick me up.He happens to call me even on my weekly offs, and even during my vacations. I agree its irritating most of the times.
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16 comments:
Very nice post!Looks like you've actually thought about your will.To me, that's like thinking about death and I try to avoid it. I know you're thinking about those close to you when you're writing this. But when I think about My Last Will and Testament, I think of me lying in a coffin/or on a pyre....brrr....Gives me the creeps.
Of course almost everyone thinks of their family members first when writing their will...I think I'd give my dog a bit too. Poor lass.... :)
Silver
my mom says I need not write a will, all I own are books, and my kids can use them as fuel to burn the body - for by then, she says wood will practically be non existent
Hi Nas....first let me congratulate you on having a keen eye(for catching this piece of news). I feel its a true testament to the patheticness of the human race, Our mad dash for things we have no need or desire for. How we flounder at the end with our feet weighed down with gold and heart filled with lead....I feel pity for this woman for her plight for her sorrow I feel sorry but I cannot help but be terribly angry at her arrogance how many millions of the poorest of the poor could have lived of that money for however long we will never know .... and all this just to spite her grandchildren how pathetic makes me think its this nature of her's that led to her dieing alone.... sad indeed
It would indeed be a sad life if somehow ,life convinced one, that the only thing that truly feels for you is a dog!!but is that what they call 'a dog's life??'..lol..(i didn't mean to joke but it just slipped!)
the old woman was trying to make a point....but that will be one hell of a rich dog family for sure. wonder if the dog dies who it goes to? his pups? maybe i can pass off my dog as one of his children too :D :D
:)
Nice...
Somz.
Hey here's somethin more I got from wiki..
"Helmsley left the bulk of her estate — estimated at more than $4 billion — to the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. She also left her Maltese, named Trouble, a $12 million trust fund.She left $15 million for her brother Alvin Rosenthal. Helmsley had four grandchildren. Two of them each will receive $5 million in trust and $5 million outright, under the condition that they visit their father's grave site once each calendar year. Her other two grandchildren, Craig and Meegan Panzirer, receive nothing. It has been alleged that they were omitted from the will because they failed to name any of their children after her late husband. She also left her chauffeur, Nicholas Celea, $100,000."
Ouch!
-Somz.
Hey Nasia... Well when I read this post all I felt was.... "That's how most people are here"
I hv see n many ppl in North America..who feel very close to there pets more than their kids..Yup..I'm not exaggerating. I guess its a kind of loneliness..
One of my friend's collegue..keeps talkg abt his dog all day but nvr abt his kid.. kid is 4 months old... you can decide nw
Lol - I have a friend who has a pillow she has had for the past 30 odd years. Carries it everywhere too.
It drove her husband batty when they first met, with its bedraggled appearance. They eventually compromised - after 28 years, the pillow now has a new cover.
BPSK
I know, i read about this ridiculous piece of news about the psychotic multi-millionairess leaving her dog her entire money! I even had a long discussion with my hairdresser about it, who thought that the end of the dog is near and that someone will kill it for the money! Hmmm.. I just cant stop thinking about how lonely the lady must actually be, inspite of the fact that she was supposed to be really mean etc, according to the media... hmmm... makes you think about who you would want to be surrounded by when you die! Also makes me think about how I'll never have so much money to give someone anyways! hehehe
i read about this article too. but such things dont shock me anymore.
Nice post ... People usually think twice about talking about their will ..
But if I will is on my dog, wouldn't the puppies take a claim ??!!:)
I don't know, sounds to me like this woman had a "thing" for her dog. Too much time and money on her hands perhaps?
Oh this was very thought-provoking! Yes, "true" love doesn't know the boundaries of rationality!
P.S. - you're good at palmistry? Ossum... when can I drop by? :D
you are tagged babes
"The moments when the people we have loved, cared , sacrificed many a thing for tend to be ungrateful. And we are left heart broken and shattered, repenting every emotion of ours wasted for that person."
I can completely identify with this. But I think the key is in realizing that even the person closest to you after all is still a person and may have his/her reasons .. limitations. And to forgive. Otherwise it really isn't a wonder if all you have left with you is a dog or a bag or a pillow.
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