Journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step

A few days ago, I casually asked a friend whether she would sign a petition requesting KTM to consider having a scheduled stop at the old Batu Gajah train station. Her reply (in Cantonese) shocked me: "I won't sign simply because I cannot imagine ever going on a train anywhere".

Day before yesterday, I met a new friend, George (brother of Tan Sri Augustine) and because I expected a long chat, suggested to go under a tree! He said it was a noble idea and he would readily sign the petition. Yesterday, I visited a retired teacher, Mr. Yap (the tree was diagonally opposite his house) and he is confident that the petition would receive full support from the residents here, simply because of its convenience. He even said that because of worry over leaving his car at the new BG station, he would rather go to Ipoh to take the train! This was a surprise to me and it further illustrated the general dislike for the new station.

Before I start the petition, I decided to give KTM a chance to reply to my suggestion. In fact, I had forwarded my earlier post to them and they have acknowledged receipt.

But to my young friend (who was first in my survey), I dedicate this story:

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.
"What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered. He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed this warning : "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr... Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The pig sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow and said, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse... I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap
. . . Alone. . .

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey...

The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did no see it. It was a venomous snake whose tail was caught in the trap. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital.

When she returned home she still had a fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup. So the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient:

But his wife's sickness continued. Friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

But, alas, the farmer's wife did not get well.... She died.

So many people came for her funeral that the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them for the funeral luncheon.

And the mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and you think it doesn't concern you, remember:

When one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.