Creation and Criticism

ISSN: 2455-9687  

(A Quarterly International Peer-reviewed Refereed e-Journal

Devoted to English Language and Literature)

Humour

Throwing Shade

Anil Shrivastava 'Musafir'

Received on Feb 05, 2024; Accepted on March 11, 2024. Available online: April 10, 2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

This is something to think about when negative people are doing their best to rain on your parade…

So my wife and I were planning a trip to Venice, Italy.

A friend of mine who always looks at the negative side of everything called me in the morning. I broke the news to him about going to Venice.

My friend seemed shocked and responded after a few moments, "Venice? Why would anyone want to go there? It's wet, stinky, crowded and dirty.”

You're crazy to go to Venice. So, how are you getting there?"

"We're taking Delta," was the reply. "We got a great rate!"

“Delta?" exclaimed my friend. "That's a terrible airline. Their planes are old, their flight attendants are ugly, and they're always late. So, where are you staying in Venice?"

"We'll be staying in Courtyard by Marriott since we are a preferred Marriott guests."

"Don't go any further. I know that place. Everybody thinks it’s going to be something special and exclusive, but it's really a dump."

"We're going to go to see the Great Canal and maybe take a boat trip."

"That's ridiculous," laughed my friend. "You and a million other people trying to go there. Remember, there are pick-pockets all over Italy. Boy, good luck on this lousy trip of yours. You're going to need it."

A month later, I met my friend after our Venice trip. I told him about our trip to Venice and what a wonderful time we had there.

"You were right about Delta. Their plane was overbooked so, they bumped us up to first class. The food and wine were wonderful, and we had a beautiful young stewardess who waited on us and was on our beck and call.

And the hotel was great! They'd just finished a $5 million remodeling job, and now it's a jewel, the finest hotel in the city.

They, too, were overbooked, so they apologized and gave us their owner's suite at no extra charge!"

"Well," muttered my friend, "that's all well and good, but I know you didn't get to see the Pope."

“Actually, you are mistaken. Pope lives in Vatican, Rome not in Venice. However, His Holiness happened to be in Venice while we were there to inaugurate a congregation. We saw him in his motorcade.

"Oh, really! What was his message during the convention?

He said: “Screw up the folks who disparage you?”

About the Author:

Born on Dec 03, 1946, Anil Shrivastava (pen name Musafir) is a retired engineer with great accomplishments but writing is his first love. He is a founder member, partner and managing editor of TheThinkClub. He is a great proponent of independent thinking among fellow human beings, which also means being non-partisan and unbiased. He resides in Rochester, Michigan, USA and can also be contacted through email- letters@thethinkclub.com