(This entry has been cross-posted in all the three blogs today.)
We recieved this very beautiful email from a very valued dear friend, Cynthia, from Canada:
Your Blog has become part of my morning routine and I love reading all your entries and how wonderful it is that so many ex-students are in touch via your tremendous efforts. Keep up your good work.
It is unfortunate that you had 'a negative response', - there is always someone out there ready to criticize but would not take on what you have done all these many years.
I am sure you must have more positive comments than negative ones, so don't ever feel guilty about the past ... what's done is done ... learn from any mistakes you might have made and continue with your great Blog entries.
We have been astounded that how many of you have virtually made our three main blog pages as a daily stopover. The daily viewing figures have inspired us no end.
Let us assure all those who received our New Year's letter to alma maters, that quite the diametrically opposite happened when we received that negative mail, the only single one in 10 years, and that was 7 years ago.
It drove us to be better. In the subsequent years we have not received any negative comments.
As our correspondent said, the most important thing about life is to learn from one's mistakes and not commit the same mistake twice.
In 99.9 instances, we have been able to do just that. But there is one mistake Annikki and I have made time and time again. And for that we have no regrets.
Whenever we see people in trouble, we remember our "Christian" values - "love thy naighbour as thyself" and "anyone in trouble is our most IMMEDIATE neighbour."
People have exploited this trait in both of us. But it is something we do not regret, as for every person who misuses this and exploits our values, there are 999 who do become our dear friends for life.
That has what has made our life so full and personally rewarding.
Our friends are stretched out to all corners of this globe. Although we may not be rich and famous, we have REAL friends who are worth more to us than all the money in the bank, our mansions or luxurious cars!
Our 20 year old jalopy, also known as our "little rabbit", will never be touched by any car thief. He/she maybe will even donate a few bob so that we get ourselves a better looking one. But it is valuable to us as it does the job on hand.
Today, the last day of the Christmas season, which is a holiday in Finland, when we opened the local newspaper, we got a most pleasant surprise. The powerful short letter (which I featured the Finnish version in day-before-yesterday's blog entry) that Annikki wrote in response to the idiotic letter which had appeared in the newspaper saying that Finland should be an unicultural society, was published in today's letter's page.
We may soon be shouting "seven in one blow" if this newspaper keeps publishing all that Annikki writes. (We are sure all of you know the story about the tailor and how he killed seven flies when he brought down the fly-swatter and how his poweress of killing seven in one blow spread far and wide. Our grandchildren know the story, so we have assumed that all your grandparents did tell it to you.)
And finally, we spoke for an hour with 8 year old grandson, Samuel, in Newcastle, last night.
and we can vouch for that!
He is, now-a-days, accompanying his mother to the library, as she goes there to study for her exams. This 8 year old rascal is gobbling up children's history books for 5 to 6 hours a day.
And then, every evening, he wants to test OUR knowledge of history!
We have a slight problem. One of you historians out there may be able to help us.
In our Encyclopedia, the British Queen Elizabeth I is shown as the first member from the House of Stuart. However, her father, Henry VIII, is shown as from the House of Tudor. It is known that Elizabeth I did not marry. So how did this change of Royal House take place?.
Samuel claims our Encyclopedia is wrong. Please help us resolve this grave problem. Otherwise we may be the victims of his "dangerous" blow! :-)
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