Remembering Mom
The young mother set her foot on the path of life. "Is this the long way?" she asked. And the guide said: "Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it.. But the end will be better than the beginning."
But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed them in the clear streams; and the sun shone on them, and the young Mother cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."
Then the night came, and the storm, and the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the children said, "Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come."
And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary.
But at all times she said to the children," A little patience and we are there." So the children climbed, and when they reached the top they said, "Mother, we would not have done it without you."
And the mother, when she lay down at night looked up at the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage. Today, I've given them strength."
And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth, clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children groped and stumbled, and the mother said: "Look up. Lift your eyes to the light. " And the children looked and saw above the clouds an everlasting glory, and it guided them beyond the darkness. And that night the Mother said, "This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God."
And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years, and the mother grew old and she was little and bent.
But her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage. And when the way was rough, they lifted her, for she was as light as a feather; and at last they came to a hill, and beyond they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide. And mother said, "I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their children after them."
And the children said, "You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates."
And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said: "We cannot see her but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence......"
Your Mother is always with you.... She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street; she's the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks; she's the cool hand on your brow when you're not well. Your Mother lives inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in every tear drop. She's the place you came from, your first home; and she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love and your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can separate you.
Not time, not space... not even death!
From a friend.
PETALING JAYA: A four-year development plan has reaped dividends with the Malaysian men’s sprint cycling team qualifying for the Olympics for the first time.
Malaysia earned a place in the Beijing Olympics in August by virtue of finishing 10th in the latest UCI world rankings campaign.
The UCI world rankings for the 2007-2008 season ended with the inclusion of points garnered from the Track World Championships in Manchester last month.
Only the top 10 ranked countries will get to compete in the team sprint and it is a big boost for Malaysia to make the grade as it secures them one extra spot for each of the individual sprint and keirin events.
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History makers: Josiah Ng (left) is assured of an Olympic place while Azizul Hasni Awang is a favourite to join him in Beijing. |
Ranked ahead of Malaysia in respective order were Japan, Russia, Greece, Germany, China, Britain, Holland, Australia and France.
There was further boost with two-time Asian Games silver medallist Josiah Ng securing an additional spot in his pet keirin event.
Josiah is ranked 13th and earned automatic qualification while youngster Azizul Hasni Awang is the next highest ranked Malaysian at 23rd.
Azizul, who set a new Asian record in the world meet in Manchester last month, will be the first choice for the 200m sprint race by virtue of his current world ranking position of 19th. Ranked two rungs lower is Josiah.
Those who have a chance to ride in the sprint team are Muhd Edrus Yunus, Junaidi Nasir, Azizul, Josiah and Rizal.
The stocky Rizal is ranked seventh in the latest rankings for the men’s 1km time-trial after his fifth-place finish in the world meet.
It will be the first time Malaysia have more than one cyclist in an Olympic competition.
The Malaysian National Cycling Federation deputy president Datuk Naim Mohamad hailed the qualification of the sprint team as a significant breakthrough for Malaysian cycling.
“It has been a main goal of us to try to get the sprint team to qualify for the Olympics because it will hand us extra spots for the individual competitions.
“We had wanted to get the cyclists into the top 10 in the world rankings once we identified the potential ones and sent them for overseas training in Australia after the last Olympics.
“This will be the biggest team to qualify for the Olympics. We should get the official invitation letter from UCI by next week but our position is secure. France have qualified earlier as the overall winners of the World Cup,” said Naim, who also hoped the cyclists will not be contented with just making the grade.
“The work now is for our cyclists to aim for personal bests.”
M. Kumaresan represented Malaysia in the road competition in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona and the next Olympic cyclist was Josiah in the 2004 Athens Games.
