1. A Dead Loss:
A broken down bus standing next to the road just stands there; it is not going anywhere anytime soon...
Small communist countries are the same; they also are not going anywhere anytime soon.
2. A Gamble:
Most gamblers do not know how to quit while they are ahead. They will go into a casino with a wad of cash and start gambling on the machines. He is sure he will win tonight, and walk out a rich man. As his money gets less, he keeps on feeding more of it into the one-armed bandit in the hope of recuperating his losses. He doesn't know how to cut his loss. Eventually all his cash is gone, and he has to leave the establishment broke...
3. A Message:
For I too am a man of authority; I tell this one 'go' and he goes...
If you want to send someone a message, you write it on a piece of paper, and then seal it in an envelope. You then give the sealed envelope to a messenger, who carries it to its destination; the addressee. The messenger does not open the sealed envelope and reads the message; he merely carries it to the person it is intended for. Once the addressee has received his letter, he opens the sealed envelope in private and reads the message intended for him. The information therein only applies to him.
4. A Principle:
When we were small boys disputes would often occur between two lads. Disputes have to be settled. The way we went about this, was by drawing a line in the sand with a stick. The two opposing parties, the two boys in question, would stand on either side of the line and challenge each other to cross it. The line represents a principle; you will not tempt me. There they would stand on either side of the line and challenge each other to cross it. Should either of the two cross the line a fight would ensue to settle the matter. This is how we resolved our differences when we were kids.
5. A Rock:
Jesus says in the New Testament that if a large rock falls on you, it will flatten you. Love, truth and faith are like this rock. Love is a rock, truth is a rock, faith is a rock. If you stand in their way you will be obliterated.
Faith
Faith is like a tin of good engine oil, you need to fill up with it from time to time, in order to keep your engine in good running condition.
6. A Sword:
Those that have ears to hear; do indeed hear. On the other hand 'there are none so blind as they who will not see'. The rift between the two is an ever widening one...
7. A Tip:
If you go to the races with some friends, and you know nothing about the horses that are going to run in the race, it is good to have a friend who’s a pundit. He can then give you a few tips, and he might even have some inside information. If you follow his advice on which horses to pick, you stand a much better chance of your horses coming in, than if you had just picked them yourself without any knowledge about it. In other words your chances would be better than if you picked the horses willy-nilly yourself.
It's the jockey's job to get the horse across the finishing line. He must have a good strategy if he wishes to win the race. We that have money on the race must hope we've backed a winning jockey, and a winning horse...
8. An Arrow:
Nature
On seeing the Niagara Falls for the first time, a fellow observer with my grandpa observed; “There’s nothing stopping it, is there.”
Democracy
Democracy finds its perfection in two buddies sharing a few beers, listening good rock and roll music, and maybe smoking a few joints; and generally enjoying themselves. A few nice girls to go along with it this is maybe not a bad idea.
Destiny
If you go to visit a friend, you will only arrive at one address; his. Otherwise you would have gone nuts if this was not the case.
The Truth
An arrow that’s perfectly shot will travel one way; to the centre of the target.
The Truth
Before you can be a master; you must first be able to master yourself
9. Character:
Character
Steel is heated and cooled in water to produce high quality steel. This is called the tempering process.
Interpretation:
Adversity breeds character...
Communism:
If a few drops of blood lands in the sea, a shark can sense from miles off that there is food nearby...
Practice makes perfect:
A quality diamond once cut, is simply perfect. The art of a hobby or profession is like this, once it has been mastered by the individual...
10. Charity begins at home:
A man has prosperous business in a large shop selling cash-registers. He does well because if there's one thing all businesses need; it's a cash-register. A customer came in one day and made a joke saying he is getting no money into his till which the man sold to him. The owner of the shop replied; "The amount of money that goes in and out of your cash-register is entirely up to you. How much hard work do you put in? I only sell them, how much you manage to get into it is your own problem." His business continued to prosper.
11. Choppity-chop:
Justice
A great chef will take a carrot and a sharp knife, if he wishes to slice a carrot for a dish. He then with deft movements of his hands commences to slice the carrot up into tiny slices, starting at the one point of the carrot, and ending at the other. Hey presto; the carrot is sliced. The Law works in the same way; it is swift to act, and slices exceedingly fine...
12. Convictions:
Religion and Politics
One gets the Pavlov-effect which is a form of psychological conditioning. You have a dog. You ring a bell at a certain time of day, and then feed the dog. Soon the dog associates the ringing bell with his bowl of food. Whenever you ring the bell the dog will then come running for his food. Thus you condition him psychologically to react upon the ringing bell. People are the same towards their personal convictions like religion and politics; once conditioned it his hard to break this psychological barrier
13. Corruption:
When you are remove weeds from your garden you first wet the soil. Then, when you pull the weeds out of the ground, you take the plant by its stem with a firm grasp, and pull it out with its roots and all. Thus you prevent it from shooting up again...
14. Education:
The human mind is like a sponge; it soaks up information like a sponge soaks up water...
15. An Eye for an Eye...
The mafia came into existence in Sicily several hundred years ago. The vendetta was an aspect of this. Two men might develop a serious dispute, and soon it would escalate to more than just a ‘me and you’ affair, with both families becoming involved in the killings. It then becomes a situation of us and them. Such a vendetta, with much killing on both sides, might last several generations. The original reason for the clan-war might be forgotten eventually, but the violence continues. Hate is indeed a deadly sin.
Nations at war and in conflict represent much the same scenario.
16. Game Over:
When you were little you used to get pocket money; maybe a few Rand. By chance if you were at the corner shop you might have twenty cents in your pocket. The kids would stand over at the machines and play video games. Something like ‘Asteroids’ or ‘Space-Invaders’. You would go over to the machines and await your turn to play. Once it was your turn you would step up to the machine and insert your coin. The game would then start. Ordinarily you had three chances or ‘lives’ during the game. You would play and play away at the game until all three ‘lives’ were used up. Once you’ve lost your final one and there are no more left, the screen would display the words ‘GAME OVER’ boldly. This is to signify that it is the end of your game. You have spent your twenty cent piece, and the game is indeed over…
17. Gates of Heaven:
In the movies sometimes you get a door that leads nowhere. It is only a door in a door-frame with nothing around it. It will usually stand out on the prairie by its own. Should a passerby come along and open it to find out what’s on the other side, he will be surprised to see that there is nothing but the same landscape. Happiness is like this, it is the same all over. Life’s what you make it…
18. Gotcha:
A Venus Flytrap is a plant whose leaf consists of two lobes hinged to a rib. Each lobe has a few sensitive hairs, and should an insect light on one of the hairs; the leaf closes like a trap. Advertising works like this; once a person goes for the bait, he is caught...
19. Harmony
If a scientist goes out into nature to do a job, he is not allowed to disturb anything. It is his responsibility that the natural environment he finds himself in must remain as unchanged and untainted as when he found it. He may not interfere with it in any way. He is only allowed to do his required work, such as ringing a bird. He may not even leave a scarp of paper behind when he leaves the place…
20. Jail:
Jail is like a shark-cage out in the ocean. Once inside, you are in deep water, and the only thing that's separating you from the sharks is a few thin metal bars. The guards inside the prison are like this cage; it is the only thing keeping you from harms way...
21. Jigsaw:
Life, and the history of humanity, is like a giant jigsaw-puzzle with thousands upon thousands of tiny pieces. An individual piece of the puzzle does not make up the whole puzzle, but occupies a certain specified place in the puzzle. All the pieces united in a whole completes the puzzle, and only then can one see the complete picture.
22. Lost:
If you are out in the hills somewhere and are lost at night, you have a better chance of finding the path to your destination if you have a guide. He knows the veldt and can find his way about in the dark.
23. Perfection:
My brother is a mathematician and since he was young he has been very adept at maths and science. Since he was a lad, he had a knack for these two subjects, more so than the average person. If sits and works out a sum, or an equation as they call it in maths, it would work out perfectly each time. From the start to the finish he would complete the calculation or sum perfectly, step by step. The completion lies in the final step; the answer. Life is like a sum done like this by a master mathematician; it works out perfectly in the end…
24. Progress:
A train leaves from a station loaded with passengers bound for a distant destination. The steam engine carries the train over the tracks through wide open spaces out in the country, and through various small towns. Eventually it will reach its destination, and will bring the people aboard safely home. Progress is much the same, it takes all along with it, and it is always moving along a given path. Ultimately it reaches its goal…
25. Quality:
One Christmas when I was boy, my father and I went to a shop called ‘Van Aswegens’ to buy me a present. It was a popular retailer in those days, and was situated in the centre of town. I chose a plastic submarine, which was battery operated, and that could go underwater. It was a gadgety thing, and I was pleased with it. After Christmas I played in the pool with it, but my father, seeing me play with it, said it was a piece of junk (Made in Hong Kong) and that it wouldn’t last long. He made me go back to the shop where we bought it, and had me exchange it for a Dinky Toy. A solid little truck, green in colour, and with no batteries or gadgets. This, he said, was quality, and would last me much longer. He was right…
26. Re-action:
One stacks dominoes upright in a row on the floor, forming a pattern. When the first one in the row is knocked over, the rest fall down in a line...
A chain of events is the same; for every little action there is an opposite and equal re-action.
27. Responsibility:
If you approach a traffic-light in a vehicle and see it turning orange, you must slow down and stop before it turns red. The orange light is a warning to slow down, otherwise you will skip the red light and run the risk of having an accident. Life also has warning-signs that must be taken note of and acted upon...
28. Retribution:
A great King had a great Empire. He ruled justly and his kingdom experienced peace and prosperity. All was well throughout the land. But one day a mere Baron on the outskirts of the Empire started a revolt against the Throne with the aid of the people of his nearby village. The King heard news about these events and sent out a mighty army against them to quell the revolt. The villagers suffered for their rebellion, and the Baron and the ring-leaders were dragged from the castle and hung on a nearby hillside. Once matters had settled, the King continued to rule the land, and all went well once more…
29. Roulette:
A friend and I went to the Casino in Jo’burg once for a night out, and played some roulette. It was his favourite game when it came to gambling. We started out with 600 Rand, and within a few spins of the wheel we were up to 2500 Rand. One of our numbers came up, and we won a handsome sum. I pocketed 600 Rand, and he blew the rest during the night on Roulette. We had a few drinks, and a good night out on the town. If we had not gone in with right attitude, and had not stood before the table with the right attitude, we would not have won anything. Fortune favours the brave…
30. Seasons
The history of humanity works in cycles. Every 50 or 100 years for instance, you will have a major war. It is comparable to the office hours of an office worker. At a certain time he starts his work, then he does his required work for the morning, at twelve o clock he will have his lunch, and then return to do his required work in the afternoon. At three o clock he will have tea. At five he will leave work to go home by train. Everyday his routine is the same, and it never really changes. History works like this. It is the larger biorhythm of humanity.
Odds
In a major conflict like the First World War, if you go into battle your chances of coming out alive is about 50%. For the 1st South African Infantry Regiment in Deville Wood for example, only about half the men that went in survived and these were mostly maimed or sustained serious injury. A small percentage came out unscathed. If you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen…
31. The Bones:
Revelation: The Bible.
In Africa a Sangoma (Witch-doctor) throws some dry bones on the ground in order to divine the future. He rolls the bones in his cupped hands, and then casts them out on the floor. The bones lay as they had been thrown, and their position remains unchanged. As they lie on the ground before him, this is exactly how the future will be...
32. The Bowl:
If a man owns a butcher shop that sells quality meat, he takes pride in his business. Should someone come along and open a hot-dog stand on the pavement in front of his shop, he will be very upset. It is because you are infringing on his right to sell a quality product, by smearing off a cheap substitute to the consumer, at his place of business. You are proverbially dipping your hands into the bowl with the Master
33. The multitude:
Tony Cook and the staff at ABCtales does a wonderful job for us all. He is like the proverbial Teacher; multiplying bread and fishes for the crowds that have gathered round him. We are the people that are dependent on that generosity, and to us it is our daily bread; those of us that write on the site. We live for our writing, as he does for his work. I, and I believe many other of us, are truly grateful for the service you provide to us. Without it we would have been lost.
So we all have our gifts for miracles in a proverbial sense. Just small everyday miracles. Some to heal, and some to comfort, and many more. We are all wonderful beings in this sense...
34. The Rich:
Once a fish has been eaten, only the skeleton with the fish-bones remain on the plate...
35. The Right-Stuff:
In greyhound racing fast dogs run a race around an oval track in order to determine which of them is the fastest. They chase after a mechanical lure such as a mechanical rabbit, which is their incentive to run and compete. As they come down the home stretch the fastest dog will cross the finishing-line first. He is the winner…
36. The Tablecloth:
Good manners is like eating off a clean tablecloth. It is pleasant and civilized. You either have a clean tablecloth, or a dirty one...
37. The Wall:
If you build a wall with brick and mortar, you have to work very correctly, systematically and efficiently. You must do all this while you work at a steady pace. You start by placing the first brick down perfectly square on the mortar. This is followed by the remaining bricks in the row. They all have to be perfectly laid one after the other. Not one can be out of place or badly laid; otherwise the whole structure of the wall will be weakened, and the whole job will turn out a failure as a result. Once the first row of bricks have been laid, it followed by the second layer. Everything has to be perfect, and the job must be done as quickly and efficiently as possible. If you follow all these instructions to the letter, you will have a perfect and solid wall when you have finished the job. A wall built in this manner can stand for centuries.
(I had my very first brick wall kicked down by the foreman when I was an appy, and I had to build it over. Life is hard.)
38. Thief in the Night:
In our area you find the praying-mantis. It is an insect sticklike in appearance, and usually green. It is the same colour green as the grass wherein it is found, and which is its natural habitat. When it is among this grass, it goes unseen with casual observation. One has to sit and inspect the grass carefully, should one hope to spot one. This is because nature camouflaged it look exactly like the grass that surrounds it. In reality the one is nothing like the other; that which surrounds it is all grass, but it itself is an insect. Nature is deceiving and protects itself in this way
39. Weighed in the Balances:
If you have an apple with a bad spot (a bit of rottenness) you take a sharp knife and cut out the bad piece. The rest of the apple you should then be able to eat. Groups of people work the same. The ‘sharp knife’ represents no mercy when going about the task of removing bad elements from a group or organization. Eating what is left of the apple represents going about the task you set out to do, and completing it successfully nonetheless.
40. May the best man win
When you have a tugging-rope contest, you have two sides opposing each other on either side of a thick, strong rope. There would usually be an equal amount of men in both sides. As the tugging commences there is usually a white cloth tied to the centre of the rope. As the contestants pull at the rope, it will eventually be pulled to one side or the other; the winning side. It is a battle of strength and will, and in the end one of the two sides will be pulled over the line. Life, similarly, is a battle of wills among opposing groups and opinions
