AFVOA Newletters of Year 2005

Page 69 of 75 “Don’t wait for your ship to come in, row out to meet it”. ~ Anon Matters Social 31. Silver Jubilee Celebrations. The Air Force Association, Tamil Nadu Branch celebrated its Silver Jubilee on 24 Sep 2005 at New Woodlands Hotel, Chennai. The Chief Guest for the occasion was Air Chief Marshal (Retd) S Krishnaswamy, PVSM, AVSM, VM and Bar. On this memorable occasion a nonagenarian, Cdr VSP Mudaliar and a host of Octogenarians among ex-AF personnel who are prominent personalities in civil today were honoured. The AFVOA was represented by Maj Gen & Mrs. C Govindaswamy, Maj Gen & Mrs. R Karthikeyan and Brig SP Balachandran Maj Gen C Govindaswamy handed over a copy of “Hello Veterans-2004” alongwith a boquet of flowers to the Chief guest and conveyed the good wishes of all members of AFVOA. The event was well covered by the print and visual media. 32. “I Wish You Enough” - A contribution from Major CA Parthasarathy. Recently I overheard a mother and a daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure. Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the mother said, “I love you and I wish you enough.” The daughter replied, “Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Mom.” They kissed and the daughter left. The mother walked over to the window where I was seated. I tried not to intrude on her privacy, but she welcomed me in by asking, “Did you ever say good-bye to someone, knowing that it would be forever.?” “Yes, I have,” I replied. “When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say ‘I wish you enough’. May I ask what that means?” She began to smile. “That’s a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.” Turning towards me, she shared the following, reciting it from memory:- “I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright. I wish you enough ruin to appreciate the sun more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive. I wish you enough pain so that the smaller joys in life appear much bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all you possess. I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.” She then began to cry and walked away. It takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them. Here it is from me to all my friends and loved ones - “I WISH YOU ENOUGH” 33. Obituary. Members of the AFVOA mourned the demise of the following:- (a) Col S Ramalingam, AMC - 17 Sep 2005. (b) Lt Col Franklin, PAB JAKLI - 28 Sep 2005. “Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought.” ~ Henri Bergson