What a week it has been?! One roller-coaster ride, I would say! Well, lets look forward to one more week of good fun, cheers and a lot of smiles. Hop on and I will take you on a joy ride of events and emotions.

Losing a loved one is not easy for sure. Uncle Frank had lost his wife and was grieving. Rachel (my niece), Debbie (my sis), and I went to his place for the weekend to stay with him through this time. When we were around, uncle Frank was pleasantly sober, but when left alone, he started brooding. When he was in one of those spells we went to check on him. He was seated by the fire place on his arm chair and softly sobbing. We just stood by, silent. There are no words for this occasion. We didn’t want to talk about the aunt or loss as it would only trigger a strong response. We just stood. Rachel slipped and sneaked out. Hmmm….good to be kids. They just can switch on and off and never need to go through all these. Sure enough, in a few minutes she was back with her favorite teddy toy. She has gone all the way to her room and dug into her backpack to find her toy. She took long baby steps to reach the arm chair. Climbed using the arms for balance and made room for herself in uncle Frank’s lap. The old man stopped sobbing and stared at Rachel. She said in a soft voice, “Uncle Frank, please keep my teddy toy with you.”

Uncle, “But my little one, what’s that for?”

Rachel, “Whenever I cry, mom gives me the teddy and says that she is my best friend and I wouldn’t feel alone in the night after mom has tucked me up for the night. I never cry when I have the teddy around.” And she added with a toothy grin, “See, what did I say, look at you, you’ve stopped crying.”

Sure enough! Uncle Frank had stopped crying.

Some sight, after a few minutes, the chair was bobbing up and down while uncle Frank was sleeping with Rachel around, with the teddy resting on her lap.

And I thought angels were creatures who wore white-wedding dress and carried a wand.

You know, sometimes they carry teddies!

The little angel knew how to cheer up a wounded soul!

You know how to mess up a date?! Ask the pundit, well, that’s me! Aaliyah and I took a detour of our favorite haunt the other day. She was dressed in my favorite white sneakers and hip-fit jeans and looked a doll. Her hair was made into a bun and the disturbed strands of hair that flew in all directions when the breeze chose to fan her made her look a kid. I kept chanting the McDonald slogan all the while, “I’m Lovin’ It.” When she decided enough of the stroll and it’s time to yak, I moved around to fetch her a random riot of colors in the form of Chrysanthemums and she reciprocated with a face full of smile! Cute! She held the flowers close and was almost cuddling and talking to them when I interrupted to tell her how much I love her ! She gave her famous smile, smoothed the unruly grass spread near her foot, and went on saying, “Bob, I know you love white, tell me something, am I really beautiful? I mean, what do you like the best on me today, is it my hairstyle or my attire?!” I gave her my evil-grin and said, “You know what Aaliyah, I like your sense of humor.” Well, I have a sick sense of humor, alright. You should’ve seen her, she was momentarily taken aback, her face visibly grew small, and she withdrew into a shell in a moment and slowly, very slowly started sobbing. Oh, ha! Here I go! Cursing myself, I pulled her in for a hug; she struggled away and wouldn’t talk. Hmm…I had to render a full unconditional apology spanning 15 minutes and promise of not repeating the mistake, and of course, to buy her one big Italian Pizza, seats on the Box for the Saturday Night play off, and to keep my word of wearing socks every time I wore shoes. What it got to do with what I did? Whatever! Girls! Guys, let me warn you, think before you speak, especially to your loved one!

Tell me a medicine that cures heart break?

What’s the most infectious thing in the world?

What relieves sadness?

What costs nothing, but is worth a lot?

Answer: smile.

No one has become rich in this world working 9 to 5. That’s a fact. You got to give your 100% in whatever you do, whatever be the vocation, wherever be your location… Never mind the adversities, but look for possiblities in every calamity.

Life is too short to dwell on negativity. Get your act right and make your future bright.

If you ever need an ear, you got Editor Bob jus’ beside you.

Write to me a line and I will give you the support you seek.

Okay, now, here is the deal… I have started updating Editor Bob’s Blog every Monday and Thursday. I want you to come around, take a read and make the experience interactive. There are some real interesting things happening in the world and let’s discuss what’s worth. In the meantime, connect with your friends and folks and spread some smiles. If you think you have a creative bone in your body, then check out our studio.