So best friend Mr. F decided to go to Ash- Sharqiyya, the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia for five days during the middle of the week without telling me.He grew up in the Eastern Province and all his friends are there and so naturally most weekends he would drive down to his home town of Dhahran accompanied by a friend or two who are also formally from the eastern part of Saudi Arabia but now work in Riyadh due to better job opportunities here. Mr. F's family no longer reside in Dhahran. His parents were both practicing physicians during his childhood.His dad hailed from an aristocratic Nawaab family originally from Hyderabad. However, after his dad passed away a few years ago, his family returned to India.As is often the case in most families when the head of the home passes away many a times it leaves the family in complete disarray with other family members stepping in and trying to get a hold of the deceased's inheritance. For Mr. F the journey has been tough.Overnight his life changed and he had to shoulder the responsibility of his family. But as the saying goes, God never burdens anyone with more than he can handle. Mr.F has always dreamt of owning his own car. For years he has commuted using public transport which is not a big deal in this part of the world as public transport is quite cheap and convenient. I guess for a man though its a feeling of pride and satisfaction of owning your own car.So two days ago Mr. F returns from the Eastern province and calls me. He becomes quite insistent to go out for dinner. Well after completing a long twelve hour shift I was in no mood of going out for fatoor(break fast meal).So last night we went out for fatoor. However last nights dinner experience was quite different. Usually we would call each other and then decide on a time and place. We both would arrive separately with a cab usually hala limousine. Last night Mr. F surprised me. He came by to pick me up in his new pearl white Honda which he bought from a retired middle aged man who worked at Saudi Aramco and that's the reason for him suddenly disappearing for five days. The happiness and jubilation on his face will definitely be a memory that I will never forget. I seen a sense of pride and achievement.I felt inspired by his eagerness to succeed, work hard and move forward in life.
I then started to realize how complicated some peoples lives are. There are many people in the world who have to work hard to survive without any support from anyone. And then on the other hand you get people who are born with everything on their plate. People like this fail to appreciate the basic things in life. The hard work and struggles that their parents went through is something that they will never face or endure in their own lives.They are short of nothing yet they are ungrateful for what they have.I started thinking about my own life. We grew up in a humble home. Dad came from a huge family of six brothers and two sisters. When my parents got married they lived in a small council home. I remember mom always says that when they moved into their little home she had just the bare necessities. We only had one family car at the time which was an orange coloured station wagon Peugeot.Mom use to therefore walk to the shop to buy her daily groceries.Mom's first car was a brightly coloured powder blue Peugeot 504.I still remember the number plate GTG451T. It was a funny looking car that took my brother and I to school from the day we started school until we completed our high school years. Everyone in the community new mom because of her car and of course she could never hide as we could spot her car miles away..Dad worked hard and slowly with time he progressed to become a successful businessman and so when we completed school mom got promoted to driving a beautiful white Mercedez elegance.It was a stark contrast compared to the Blue Peugeot with a beautiful, sophisticated interior, leather seats, digital sound system,and various other accessories that made the car a pure luxury. The Mercedez was a silent car that simply cruised down the road compared to the Blue Peugeot that could be heard a block away making its way towards home.As a family we had some hilarious moments whilst riding in the Peugeot. There were times when the door locks would break and so we all had to jump to the front seat to make an exit from the front door. There were times when the wipers wouldn't work and mom would take a cloth and wipe the windscreen whilst we sat at the back giggling and there were other times when the hooter wouldn't work.There were many people who would mock at moms car. But for us it was a car that took us to school and back. We were grateful at the fact that at least we had a car whilst hundreds of others had to walk to school or use public transport. I have noticed that nowadays in South Africa as well as Saudi Arabia the youth feel embarrassed to be dropped of at school in a car that is old or doesn't fit into societies standards of class. Last week whilst dining at a colleagues home, his daughter brought up the subject of cars on the dining table. She said that she goes to an elite school and so she will not accept traveling to school in an old fashion Toyota. She was insistent that her doctor dad should buy a brand new four by four vehicle which according to her looks trendy, classy and fits in with the rich and elite society they live in. I couldn't help but wonder, what has become of society? We start judging people based on the cars they have, clothes they wear, homes they live in. What ever happened to admiring someone based on their intelligence, honesty, integrity and character.
I have heard of numerous stories here within the Kingdom of women who refused to marry a suitor simply because he drove an old fashion car. What does the car have to do with his status or character or qualities as a human being?For me a car will always just be a car,an object devised to take me from point a to point b. With Gods grace we now have seven cars and yet I prefer driving the small Nissan 1400 van. I always get asked why am I driving such an inferior vehicle for being a professional person and my answer would always be the same. A car does not define me as a person, a car doesn't change my personality or my character.On the other hand I do admire and appreciate my dad for working hard and succeeding in life. It was his dream to own a Mercedez one day and to simply be able to buy any car he wishes for and so after years and years of hard work his dreams have come true. I think that when youth are brought up in a spoiled manner, we as a society stun that individuals desire to dream and achieve a goal.Most of the youth today are lost souls with no desire to persevere and achieve simply because they have found everything on their plates. Usually when an individual is in a desperate situation to survive, it is then that the best comes out of them and they really work hard to succeed. The biggest success stories are always from individuals who grew up poor with hardly anything and yet after years of hard work these same individuals rise up to the top as owners of huge international companies.I was really impressed and felt good knowing that people like Mr. F do still exist in society. Nothing in life comes easy without hard work and perseverance.And at the end of it all cars may come and cars may go but the Blue Peugeot 504 will always be a car that my family and I will never forget!!!!
I'm sure many of you out there must have experienced the elation and jubilation of owning your own car.So share your experiences with us. What was your first car? How did you purchase it or was it given to you as a gift by your parents?
