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If God was a Banker!

 

 

 

For the first time, I will be writing an article on this blog a “book review”. I just completed reading the book “If God was a Banker”.

First time, i experienced the world of a Corporate Bank. While Bank continues to be a very needy part of our life, the back-end could be something different.

What I liked about this book (also what I learned):

1. How the sales at bank work:

It starts from late 1980’s. Book gives me an interesting view of how MNC’s entered into India. What opportunities did they saw in India. How credit cards came in place. How all these loans system came in place. How banks expanded their vision to the vision of common man and monetize on it. How concept of BPO’s started in India.

2. Working with Integrity, don’t compromise on your values to achieve your dreams:

It’s very easy to lose your grip to the greed. It’s always tempting. A person who has a weak relationship with its conscience can easily fall for it. It takes an immense belief in values, and chose a path of honesty and integrity when you are alone in the sea of glamour, power, greed, addiction to flesh, fake-reputation of cool dude. It takes a great amount of patience, tolerance, strong relationship with your conscience, honesty, integrity in everything you do, maturity, responsibility to stay connected to your ethics and values. Else, you will regret after few years, and may be it can be too late. By that time you could have lost your loved ones, their trust, your career, your respect, all possessions. Though material possessions you can always get it back. But the spiritual loss is something very difficult to accept and get over. You may have achieved that position, your dreams may get accomplished, but the price that you pay for it without integrity is much more. You will regret every action of yours, every words of yours, every achievement of yours. Chose to be in integrity of life and not indulge into any activities like lobbying, bribing, deceiting, dis-respect people, play with people’s life or play with their emotions.

Two character of this story Swaminathan and Sundeep, who started the career with an MNC bank at the same time, same day. But the paths they chose were different. Swaminathan, a man full of integrity in every area of his life and Sundeep, a complete opposite character, from day one he started with deceit, he reached peaks, he ruined lives and careers of many people, he deceited his own organization that gave him everything – a friend, a position, a wife, success, money, family, material possessions, luxury… but he deceited each of these. But life has its own way to pull you back and make you grounded.

3. Always stay connected to your source / roots, Never let success reach your head:

No matter what, at the end of the day, your friends with whom you started your journey will stay with you thru all thick and thin. You may have forgotten them in your success. You may have missed talking to them while climbing the staircase of success, ignored them, been arrogant with them, hurted them, you cheated them… but they are the only one who will stand for you when you need it.

Aditya – man who hired Swaminathan and Sundeep in MNC bank, also their boss – who was the source of success of these 2 people. If Aditya havent given them an opportunity to lead the launch of new loan products in the indian market on day of the job, they would have doing some clerical job after a month of management training. Aditya then leaves the job to start his own business. Swami wants to join aditya as for him aditya has been god. Aditya denied coz swami will not make great career with his startup. Aditya considered Swami and Sundeep as their younger brothers and treated them, guided them, mentored them like his younger brothers or family. Sundeep showered Aditya with his arrogance and dis-respected / insulted this wonderful relationship.

Natasha his wife – he kept on cheating his wife with multiple physical relationships with different women’s, extra marital affairs.

Swami, his friend – all his life, sundeep was jealous of Swami’s intellect. His own success rooted from swami’s intelligence. And later on in career, he bribed and bought and sold various designations. One day he was happy to have swami working under him and then forcibly send him to a new initiative of banks of starting a BPO, which no one wanted to jump in.

On the say when the global CEO, on the judgement day of Sundeep on all his activities and goof-ups, he was rescued by Aditya and Swaminathan. Natasha knew everything but chose to remain quite give Sundeep another chance.

At the end, Sundeep realized how for decades he had been screwing up lives of so many people as well as his best pals. At the end of the day, these best pals only came to his rescue.

What i did not find convincing in this book:

The story narrates about nearly, 10 to 15 years of life of 2 characters Sundeep and Swaminathan. The climax is not accepted. One cannot ignore the number of lives Sundeep ruined – personal lives as well as careers of his colleagues / subordinates…  its not handful, its in multiple 100’s. If people commit suicide / get divorced / sexual harrassment / promote or demote not on the basis of deservability, etc… It’s not to be ignored and just be forgiven.

Sundeep in these decade story, have always been shown as lucky enough to come out of situation without any punishment or any cost to pay for his illegitimate actions. He always thought.. “good its over and am saved”… the climax was no different.

Am sure many readers would not find the climax that can be accepting!

Otherwise, its an easy read, no glamorous language.

Kargil war 1999

 

 

 

This happened during Kargil War which took place between May and July 1999.

Why did the Kargil War take place?

There were mainly 2 areas of importance – Drass and Kargil. These are roughly 42 kms apart from each other.
Pakistan had a battle plan to capture Drass and Kargil and once they would’ve captured these territories completely, India would negotiate for these and Pakistan would ask for Siachen in return.
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Importance of Siachen Glacier

Now let me shed some light why Siachen is an important ground for Pakistan. There’s a highway which leads from Islamabad to Lhasa (Capital of Tibet) and the southern side of the Siachen glacier touches the highway. So, if India got the control over that highway, they would easily destroy the road connection between Pakistan and China and that road way would be of no importance if India Captured it. India realised this in 1983. According to the Simla Agreement in 1972, the LOC was defined upto the Siachen Glacier and beyond that the LOC is mentioned “and as the ridge follows” because it’s too much of a rocky mountain range and hence instead of defining it completely it was mentioned as “and as the ridge follows.”
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In 1983, the Military Intelligence of India informed the military chiefs that Pakistan is trying to infiltrate the Siachen Glacier. The military chiefs met with Indira Gandhi. Without hesitating, Indira ji  gave an order to capture the Siachen Glacier. That time, Bana Singh along with 30 men scaled the glacier, reached the topmost point alive and set up Indian Army’s camp. That highest point at Siachen Glacier is named after him i,e.  Bana point.
Bana Singh was awarded Paramveer Chakra for his accomplishment. (Paramveer Chakra is the highest military award that any military official could receive and he received it while he was alive.)
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First action taken through ground troops.

The first action against Pakistan started in May 1999.
A certain Captain Amit Verma along with 6 soldiers was sent to Reconnaissance i.e survey that area. He never returned.
In order to find him, Captain Saurabh Kaalia along with 6 soldiers was sent. He never returned. 6 days later, the Pakistani Army sent the corpses of Capt. Saurabh Kaalia and other 6 soldiers as a “gift” to India.
Their bodies were horribly tortured beyond explanation by the Pakistanis. Capt. Saurabh was originally from Amritsar, Punjab. His whole family was in the military. When his body was brought home for cremation, his elder brother said “I’m proud of my brother. My only concern is that we only 4 brothers. If we were any more, we would have not hesitated to send all of them to fight for the country.”

After the Indian Army won the Tololing Peak, they found the corpse of Captain Amit Verma and his associates. He was from Pune. When his corpse wrapped in the tiranga was brought back to Pune, his crying and wailing mother said to the media “Bajpayee jee ko abhi bol do ki ab hamare zameen ka ek inch bhi Pakistan ko mat do.”

Second action taken through aerial troops

Now the Indian army realised that sending ground troops was not useful. So they decided to do surveillance by air. The first plane that was sent to survey was of Flight Lieutenant K. Nachiketa. Exactly above the Tololing Peak, his plane was shot down by Pakistani Anti Aircraft Guns. He was never found. Next in for surveillance was K. Nachiketa’s squadron leader Ajay Ahuja. Even he got hit and didn’t return but after the war was over they found his corpse lying in the snow. From the corpse it was evident that he didn’t die of a bomb hit but was tortured brutally. Ajay Ahuja had a 26 yr old wife and a 4 yr old child. When his corpse was brought back to Delhi, his crying 26 yr old wife said was “I’m proud of you Ajay.”
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Action plan and execution

The Indian Army now sprang into serious action. They realised that neither ground nor air surveillance had proven fruitful. Now they decided on a battle plan which would be executed in steps. The first aim was to win the Tololing Peak. A group of soldiers started to scale the peak during the evening. Every soldier was carrying a weight of almost 40kgs which included the bulletproof vests, night vision devices, arms and ammunitions. Enemies sat in a bunker at the top of the peak armed with machine guns that would fire 1500 bullets per minute.

The commanding officer for the Tololing capture was Major Sarvanan and his second in command was Lieutenant Tomar who was just 23 year old. Just 4 months before he had completed his NDA training and got directly commissioned at the Kargil war. This was his first war. After 6 hours of trekking, they reached 100m away from the bunker at 2 am in the night. The plan was to stealthily crawl 100m towards the bunker and toss hand grenades into them and kill the enemy. When they reached 10m close to the bunker, the firing started and Major Sarvanan got killed by the bullet which exactly hit in between his eyes. Now Lieutenant Tomar who was handling the right flank of the group saw this through his night vision device, but that 23 yr old guy didn’t budge. He got hold of Major Sarvanan’s radio and told the other troops that were scaling the mountain that Maj. Sarvanan is dead, i’m his 2IC and we will continue. He knew that it wasn’t possible to attack from the front with these machine guns posted and hence he attacked from behind the bunkers and destroyed them.

There was another peak between Tiger Hill and Tololing and Capt. Sachin Nimbalkar (aged 23-24) was given the responsibility to capture it. He started to scale that peak in the evening. He reached the top at 4am. In those areas, the sun would rise at 4.30am. He had only half an hour. Once the sun had risen, it would be impossible to fight the enemy and even retreat. He realised this and did the impossible. Through the radio, he contacted the artillery, gave them the exact co-ordinates of the bunker and told them to bomb it. Thus they captured this peak. Sachin Nimbalkar won a veer chakra for this heroic deed.

The Indian Army had Anti Aircraft Guns but didn’t have gun locating radar’s on them. The Anti Aircraft Guns have a range of 15-17 kms. When he enemy fires a bomb from the other side, the radars determine the exact location of the origin of the bomb by measuring various factors such as the distance, direction and impact of the bomb. The Indian Army soldiers were so skilful that they could determine the exact location of the origin of the bomb without the help of these gun locating radars. This was done by sending 3-4 soldiers at an OP (observation point) from where the enemy base would be clearly seen. Along with their night vision devices and radio sets with some permutation and combination they would determine the exact co-ordinates of the base and would send them to the artillery and then the artillery would  bomb that base.

Another such incident was that the military intelligence had a news that there was an ammunitions factory in the Gilgit (It is the Pakistani controlled part of Kashmir) and it had to be destroyed. A major was geared up and set at an OP with the radio sets. A truck full of 40 rockets was stationed below. As and when he would give the gradians of the location, the rockets used to fire. He took 1.5 hours to fire 7 rockets. The 7th rocket exactly hit the target and with no more delay he fired the next 33 rockets in a matter of 3.5 seconds and destroyed that ammunitions factory.
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After many more such heroic takeovers, India was able to gain control over Kargil and Drass.

 
Flight Lieutenant K. Nachiketa was held in captivity by the Pakistani troops and was released a week later on June 4.
He was later diagnosed with a back problem – a compression fracture – which meant he could never fly fighters again.
However, after a series of remedial measures and retraining, he has been flying AN-24s since 2004.
He is now a Group captain and has 2 sons (oxygen and ozone *pet names*) and is living happily in Bhatinda.

The Katkari Tribes!

This video is a project of T.Y. BMM students of NK college, topic cultural studies!
Shot in Virar where a small group of Katkari tribes reside in slums.
Beautiful one, these kids are doing wonderful job!
They are now all set to bid farewell to college life. Wish all of them a “All the best” for their future.

U Me aur Hum

Apne Rang Gawaen Bin, Mere Rang Mein Ghul Jaao
Apne Rang Gawaen Bin, Mere Rang Mein Ghul Jaao
Apni Dhoop Bujhaye Bin, Meri Chhaon Mein Aa Jao

O Chalo Yun Kare,
Tum, Tum Bhi Raho, Main, Main Bhi Rahoon
Hum, Hum Bhi Rahein
Tum, Tum Bhi Raho, Main, Main Bhi Rahoon
Hum, Hum Bhi Rahein
Teeno Mil Ke Saath Chale
Saathi Janam Janam, U Me Aur Hum.
U Me Aur Hum, U Me Aur Hum.

Apne Rang Gawaen Bin, Mere Rang Mein Ghul Jao
Apni Dhoop Bujhaye Bin, Meri Chhao Mein Aa Jao

Sometimes……………..

Sometimes it is too late to make things right
Sometimes we hurt others more than we realize
Sometimes a smile fades in front of our eyes
Sometimes we are the reason for tears in someone’s eyes.
Never treat anyone the way you don’t want to be treated.
Love life & love the ones around you 😀

Old mumbai (Formerly ‘Bombay’)

Old Mumbai (Formerly ‘Bombay’) – 1920s

Churchgate,CST,Dadar,apolo bundar,Retro Mumbai,The city of Bombay originally consisted of seven islands, namely Colaba, Mazagaon, Old Woman’s Island, Wadala, Mahim, Parel, and Matunga-Sion. This group of islands, which have since been joined together by a series of reclamations, formed part of the kingdom of Ashoka, the famous Emperor of India.

Jana Gana Mana – Full song (all 5 stanzas)

Stanza 1:-
Jano Gano Mano Adhinaayako Jayo Hey, Bhaarato Bhaagyo Bidhaataa
Panjaabo Sindhu Gujaraato Maraathaa,Draabiro Utkalo Bango
Bindhyo Himaachalo Jamunaa Gangaa, Uchchhalo Jalodhi Tarango
Tabo Shubho Naamey Jaagey, Tabo Shubho Aashisho Maagey
Gaahey Tabo Jayogaathaa
Jano Gano Mangalo Daayako, Jayo Hey Bhaarato Bhaagyo Bidhaataa
Jayo Hey, Jayo Hey, Jayo Hey,Jayo Jayo Jayo, Jayo Hey

English Translation

Oh! the ruler of the minds of people, Victory be to You, dispenser of the destiny of India!
Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat, Maharashtra,Dravida(South India), Orissa, and Bengal,
The Vindhya, the Himalayas, the Yamuna, the Ganges,and the oceans with foaming waves all around
Wake up listening to Your auspicious name, Ask for Your auspicious blessings,
And sing to Your glorious victory.
Oh! You who impart well being to the people!
Victory be to You, dispenser of the destiny of India!
Victory to Thee, victory to Thee, victory to Thee, Victory, Victory, Victory, Victory to Thee!
(refrain repeated five times)

Stanza 2:-
Ohoroho Tobo Aahbaano Prachaarito,Shuni Tabo Udaaro Baani
Hindu Bauddho Shikho Jaino,Parashiko Musholmaano Christaani
Purabo Pashchimo Aashey,Tabo Singhaasano Paashey
Premohaaro Hawye Gaanthaa
Jano Gano Oikyo Bidhaayako Jayo Hey,Bhaarato Bhaagyo Bidhaataa
Jayo Hey, Jayo Hey, Jayo Hey,Jayo Jayo Jayo, Jayo Hey

English Translation

Your call is announced continuously,we heed Your gracious call
The Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Parsees, Muslims, and Christians,
The East and the West come,to the side of Your throne
And weave the garland of love.
Oh! You who bring in the unity of the people!
Victory be to You, dispenser of the destiny of India!

Stanza 3:-
Potono Abhbhudoy Bandhuro Ponthaa,Jugo Jugo Dhaabito Jaatri
Hey Chiro Saarothi, Tabo Ratha Chakrey Mukhorito Potho Dino Raatri
Daaruno Biplabo Maajhey,Tabo Shankhodhwoni Bajey
Sankato Dukkho Traataa
Jano Gano Potho Parichaayako,Jayo Hey Bhaarato Bhaagyo Bidhaataa
Jayo Hey, Jayo Hey, Jayo Hey,Jayo Jayo Jayo, Jayo Hey

English Translation

The way of life is somber as it moves through ups and downs,But we, the pilgrims, have followed it through ages.
Oh! Eternal Charioteer, the wheels of your chariot echo day and night in the path
In the midst of fierce revolution, your conch shell sounds.
You save us from fear and misery
Oh! You who guide the people through tortuous path…
Victory be to You, dispenser of the destiny of India!

Stanza 4:-
Ghoro Timiro Ghono Nibiro,Nishithey Peerito Murchhito Deshey
Jagrato Chhilo Tabo Abicholo Mangalo,Noto Nayoney Animeshey
Duhswapney Aatankey,Rokkhaa Koriley Ankey
Snehamoyi Tumi Maataaa
Jano Gano Duhkho Trayako,Jayo Hey Bhaarato Bhaagyo Bidhaataa
Jayo Hey, Jayo Hey, Jayo Hey,Jayo Jayo Jayo, Jayo Hey

English Translation

During the bleakest of nights,when the whole country was sick and in swoon
Wakeful remained Your incessant blessings,through Your lowered but winkless eyes
Through nightmares and fears,You protected us on Your lap
Oh Loving Mother
Oh! You who have removed the misery of the people…
Victory be to You, dispenser of the destiny of India!

Stanza 5:-
Raatri Prabhatilo Udilo Rabichhabi, Purbo Udayo Giri Bhaaley
Gaahey Bihangamo Punyo Samirano, Nabo Jibano Rasho Dhaley
Tabo Karunaaruno Ragey,Nidrito Bhaarato Jagey
Tabo Chorone Noto Maatha
Jayo Jayo Jayo Hey, Jayo Rajeshwaro,Bhaarato Bhaagyo Bidhaataa
Jayo Hey, Jayo Hey, Jayo Hey,Jayo Jayo Jayo, Jayo Hey

English Translation

The night is over, and the Sun has risen over the hills of the eastern horizon.
The birds are singing, and a gentle auspicious breeze is pouring the elixir of new life.
By the halo of Your compassion India that was asleep is now waking
On your feet we lay our heads
Victory be to You, the Supreme King…
Victory be to You, dispenser of the destiny of India!

A nice short story I found, and wanted to share…

As I walked home one freezing day, I stumbled on a wallet someone had lost in the street. I picked it up and looked inside to find some identification so I could call the owner. But the wallet contained only three dollars and a crumpled letter that looked as if it had been in there for years.

The envelope was worn and the only thing that was legible on it was the return address. I started to open the letter, hoping to find some clue. Then I saw the dateline -1924. The letter had been written almost sixty years ago.

It was written in a beautiful feminine handwriting on powder blue stationery with a little flower in the left-hand corner. It was a ‘Dear John’ letter that told the recipient, whose name appeared to be Michael and said that the writer could not see him any more because her mother forbade it. Even so, she wrote that she would always love him. It was signed, Hannah.

It was a beautiful letter, but there was no way except for the name Michael, that the owner could be identified. Maybe if I called information, the operator could find a phone listing for the address on the envelope.

‘Operator,’ I began, ‘ this is an unusual request. I’m trying to find the owner of a wallet that I found. Is there anyway you can tell me if there is a phone number for an address that was on an envelope in the wallet?’

She suggested I speak with her supervisor, who hesitated for a moment then said, ‘Well, there is a phone listing at that address, but I can’t give you the number.’ She said, as a courtesy, she would call that number, explain my story and would ask them if they wanted her to connect me. I waited a few minutes and then she was back on the line. ‘I have a party who will speak with you.’

I asked the woman on the other end of the line if she knew anyone by the name of Hannah. She gasped, ‘Oh! we bought this house from a family who had a daughter named Hannah. But that was 30 years ago!’

‘Would you know where that family could be located now?’ I asked. ‘I remember that Hannah had to place her mother in a nursing home some years ago,’ the woman said. ‘Maybe if you got in touch with them they might be able to track down the daughter.’

She gave me the name of the nursing home and I called the number. They told me the old lady had passed away some years ago but they did have a phone number for where they thought the daughter might be living. I thanked them and phoned. The woman who answered explained that Hannah herself was now living in a nursing home.

This whole thing was stupid, I thought to myself. Why was I making such a big deal over finding the owner of a wallet that had only three dollars and a letter that was almost 60 years old?

Nevertheless, I called the nursing home in which Hannah was supposed to be living and the man who answered the phone told me, ‘Yes, Hannah is staying with us.’

Even though it was already 10 p.m., I asked if I could come by to see her. ‘Well,’ he said hesitatingly, ‘if you want to take a chance, she might be in the day room watching television.’

I thanked him and drove over to the nursing home. The night nurse and a guard greeted me at the door. We went up to the third floor of the large building. In the day room, the nurse introduced me to Hannah.

She was a sweet, silver-haired old timer with a warm smile and a twinkle in her eye. I told her about finding the wallet and showed her the letter. The second she saw the powder blue envelope with that little flower on the left, she took a deep breath and said, ‘ Young man, this letter was the last contact I ever had with Michael.’

She looked away for a moment deep in thought and then said softly, ‘I loved him very much. But I was only 16 at the time and my mother felt I was too young. Oh, he was so handsome. He looked like Sean Connery, the actor.’

‘Yes,’ she continued, ‘Michael Goldstein was a wonderful person. If you should find him, tell him I think of him often and,’ she hesitated for a moment, almost biting her lip, ‘tell him I still love him. You know,’ she said smiling as tears began to well up in her eyes, ‘I never did marry, I guess no one ever matched up to Michael.’

I thanked Hannah and said goodbye. I took the elevator to the first floor and as I stood by the door, the guard there asked, ‘Was the old lady able to help you?’ I told him she had given me a lead. ‘At least I have a last name. But I think I’ll let it go for a while. I spent almost the whole day trying to find the owner of this wallet.’

I had taken out the wallet, which was a simple brown leather case with red lacing on the side. When the guard saw it, he said, ‘ Hey, wait a minute! That’s Mr. Goldstein’s wallet. I’d know it anywhere with that right red lacing. He’s always losing that wallet must have found it in the halls at least three times.’

‘Who’s Mr. Goldstein?’ I asked as my hand began to shake. ‘He’s one of the old timers on the 8th floor. That’s Mike Goldstein’s wallet for sure. He must have lost it on one of his walks.’ I thanked the guard and quickly ran back to the nurse’s office. I told her what the guard had said. We went back to the elevator and got on. I prayed that Mr. Goldstein would be up.

On the eighth floor, the floor nurse said, ‘I think he’s still in the day room. He likes to read at night. He’s a darling old man. ‘We went to the only room that had any lights on and there was a man reading a book. The nurse went over to him and asked if he had lost his wallet. Mr. Goldstein looked up with surprise, put his hand in his back pocket and said, ‘Oh, it is missing!’

‘This kind gentleman found a wallet and we wondered if it could be yours?’ I handed Mr. Goldstein the wallet and the second he saw it, he smiled with relief and said, ‘Yes, that’s it! It must have dropped out of my pocket this afternoon. I want to give you a reward.’

‘No, thank you,’ I said. ‘But I have to tell you something. I read the letter in the hope of finding out who owned the wallet.’ The smile on his face suddenly disappeared. ‘You read that letter?’

‘Not only did I read it, I think I know where Hannah is.’ He suddenly grew pale. ‘Hannah? You know where she is? How is she? Is she still as pretty as she was? Please, please tell me,’ he begged.

‘She’s fine … just as pretty as when you knew her.’ I said softly. The old man smiled with anticipation and asked, ‘Could you tell me where she is? I want to call her tomorrow.’ He grabbed my hand and said, ‘You know something, mister, I was so in love with that girl that when that letter came, my life literally ended. I never married. I guess I’ve always loved her.’

‘Mr. Goldstein,’ I said, ‘come with me. ‘We took the elevator down to the third floor. The hallways were darkened and only one or two little night-lights lit our way to the day room where Hannah was sitting alone watching the television. The nurse walked over to her. ‘Hannah,’ she said softly, pointing to Michael, who was waiting with me in the doorway. ‘Do you know this man?’

She adjusted her glasses, looked for a moment, but didn’t say a word. Michael said softly, almost in a whisper, ‘Hannah, it’s Michael. Do you remember me?’

She gasped, ‘Michael! I don’t believe it! Michael! It’s you! My Michael!’ He walked slowly towards her and they embraced. The nurse and I left with tears streaming down our faces.

‘See,’ I said. ‘See how the Good Lord works! If it’s meant to be, it will be.’ About three weeks later I got a call at my office from the nursing home. ‘Can you get away on Sunday to attend a wedding? Michael and Hannah are going to tie the knot!’

It was a beautiful wedding with all the people at the nursing home dressed up to join in the celebration. Hannah wore a light beige dress and looked beautiful. Michael wore a dark blue suit and stood tall. They made me their best man. The hospital gave them their own room and if you ever wanted to see a 76-year-old bride and a 79-year-old groom acting like two teenagers, you had to see this couple.

A perfect ending for a love affair that had lasted nearly 60 years!

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