Having seen some cosmetic containers left on the floor, I wondered whether they were empty ones or the ones that have passed the “good before” date, and it was the former, and they were kept there because containers can be reused for something else later.
That reminded me of a couple of incidents that
occurred more than four decades ago.
My younger brother, who was studying overseas, had
some health concerns, decided to abandon his studies and arrived without any
prior intimation.
Luckily, I was on duty at the airport and went there
to oversee the operation and not knowing that he was arriving on that aircraft.
The old airport was small, and almost all incoming
passengers were escorted back to the terminal building by one of the ground
staff.
There were no designated walkways, but we had no
incidents with passengers being escorted on the tarmac.
So, I sought permission from the staff who came to
escort passengers and took my brother to the terminal before others arrived.
While waiting for the baggage to come, I asked him
what he brought, and he told me that he had two large rucksacks, one in blue
and the other in yellow.
Knowing well that such have no method of securing
against spillage and pilferage, I radioed my colleague under the aircraft to
keep an eye on the unloading procedure with the description of the two items
brought in by my bother.
When his baggage arrived, there was no sign of any
pilferage or even any effort had been made on them.
So, he was off through customs and headed home.
When I reached home in the evening after work, I saw
some sunscreen and remover tubes, a pair of goggles, and various other things
on the table.
I was a bit confused, and when I asked if they were
all his items, he said no, but they were in my bags.
Then I knew exactly what must have happened in the
cargo hold and told my brother that, tomorrow morning, someone on the Hikkaduwa
beach would be looking for his or her sunscreen and remover and another's pair
of goggles.
There was no way we could sensibly restore them to
their rightful owners, so kept them in the room cupboard not knowing what to do
with them.
Having heard of his arrival, one of our neighbourhood
friends came to see him the following morning.
At that time, the country was opening up to a free-market
economy and having lived through decades of Marxist-backed economic policies,
many of us have developed a penchant for anything foreign and also expect a
gift from anyone returning home after visiting a foreign land, no matter what
his or her circumstances were.
So as expected, he demanded his gift so boldly and
without any hesitation that my brother opened the cupboard, took the pair of
goggles out, and gave them to him, stating that he specifically brought them
for him.
Needless to say, he was thrilled.
A little while later, another regular visitor to our
place came, but he was not aware of the brother’s arrival.
He was happy to see my brother after so many years,
and after exchanging pleasantries, he too demanded his gift like the previous
guy.
My brother had no hesitation again and gave him a tube
of sunscreen.
It had a very pleasant smell, and he too was happy
with his gift.
He went home, and his younger brother arrived in a
hurry.
To cut the story short, he was given the sunscreen
remover tube, and finally, both products ended up in the same household (not on
the Hikkaduwa beach), but neither knew what they were meant for but were lured
by their pleasant smells.
That way, he managed to keep his visiting friends
happy until the freebies ran out.
What happened to his two rucksacks is another story,
and that will be for another time.
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