The WhatsApp message
My cousin had always hoped that I would accept his dinner invitation , which somehow did not seem to happen .
Finally , I messaged him that this time I was ready to accept it , on my trip to Goa.
I asked “ Will 27th May work for you ‘
He replied “ Yes Vincent, you and your wife are welcome to dinner ; you can come here and I’ll drop you’ll home .”
I typed out a reply on the WhatsApp accepting this invitation.
We travelled to his home . However we were in for a shock . His home was dimly lit . It looked as if there was no expectation for a dinner invite. I tried calling him but got no response. I thought that he may have gone to church, which is nearby.
We then rang his door bell . Roy (name has been changed ) just out of his shower opened the door and said quite seriously“ I called you for dinner.”
I replied “ Yes , we have come for dinner.”
“But you did not reply to my message; and we were wondering whether you were coming or not.” said a surprised Roy.
“I did reply”
“No you did not “ and out came his mobile and he showed me the messages . It was true that my message had not reached him.
I checked my phone and realized that even though I had typed the message , it was not ‘sent’. This left me very embarrassed.
The outcome of this episode was that Roy hosted a delectable dinner , ordered from restaurants nearby.
Roy’s wife Jane regretted that they could not give us a home cooked meal , though we had a good chat to catch up with times gone by .
A tale of two ‘Alloysious’
Sometime ago , I received a video call from a person I knew . He had a broad face and quite bald .
I gladly spoke “Hello Fr Alloysious , so kind of you to remember me after such a long time “ (Fr Alloysious is bald)
He responded “so how are you Vincent ?”
I then realized moments later that it was not Fr Allosious but Alloysious .
I was embarrassed at this gaffe.
However Alloysious carried on the conversation as if he did not notice .
Did he really ?
PS: names have been changed
Refuelling
….with another mistake
This incident occurred while we were on a short holiday in Goa .
Anjean and I drove to church for the early service at 7.30 am. I normally don’t carry my mobile phone to church .
After mass, we decided to refuel at a petrol pump nearby .
The attendant asked me “How many litres do you require ? “
“Full tank” I replied
When he finished refuelling for us , I told him
“I’ll pay by card “ as I was not carrying any cash .
I searched my pockets , and found nothing.
I realized my card was in the folder of my mobile which was left at home .
Thankfully my wife spoke in the local language , Konkani
“ Ami rokdo yetha “ ( we will return fast)
The man was gracious enough to allow us to go home and return to complete our payment .
People were surprised that the attendant allowed us to go inspite of our car having an out station registration, which the locals find difficult to trust .
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