THE stuffed teddy bear, belonging to one of my daughter’s when she’d been little, now sat in all regality on a little rocking chair, also belonging to my other daughter when she was little. The bear looked at me with its beady eyes, “Why are you pacing up and down Bob?”
“The heat is killing me!” I said, even as I wondered at the back of my mind, how teddy, belonging to children of mine, had the audacity to call me ‘Bob’, but never mind, the heat was too much for me to care about such trivialities and I continued my pacing.
“Look outside Bob,” continued Teddy in that same little bear voice I was beginning to resent, but then I didn’t want to get into an argument with the stuffed fellow and spoil my day, so I looked outside, “What do you see Bob?” he continued. “Heat waves!” I said. “Anything else?” “The usual!” I said. “The usual?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said, “The man selling flowers, the woman cleaning the downstairs front yard, the dog walker, the garbage man, who seems to be looking longingly up here, maybe he’s fond of teddy bears!” I suggested rather cruelly.
“So, the heat waves down there too?” “Yes,” I said. “And they’re all doing the usual things?” “Yes,” I said, wondering what the little fellow sitting on his rocking chair was getting to. “So, why aren’t you also not doing your usual thing Bob?” asked the cheeky fellow. “It’s hot,” I said.
“So it is, for the man selling flowers, the woman cleaning the front yard, and who else did you talk about?” “That garbage cleaner,” I said lamely. “Ah yes, the garbage cleaner!” said the teddy bear, “Heat wave or not, they’re all doing the usual, except you, who feels the heat!” “I’m sure they all feel the heat,” I said.
“And still manage to do their usual, their normal work, without complaining, without shirking…” “Who’s shirking?” I asked, as I quickly settled down in from of my laptop in the air-conditioned room, where my daughter’s teddy also sat. I was hammering away at the keys when the teddy hiccupped, and I looked at it with annoyance, “Now what’s on your mind?” I asked.
“Was just thinking what those people you spoke about, doing their work as usual, must be thinking. They must be saying, ‘look at Bob, how lucky he is, to be able to work in air-conditioned comfort during the heat wave, not realizing Bob was actually going to use the heat wave to skip work!” The AC purred in acknowledgment to Teddy’s truth as I heard many on phones to their relatives abroad saying, “the heat is killing me!” as their air-conditioners purred with mine..!
