“What the mind can conceive the body can achieve,” says the commercial I used to see every now and then in the television. Our mind is indeed powerful. It defies age and its body host. It can command and put into action a feeble body. The languor physiology of a human does not affect his mind. The body ages and retires but not the mind. It is even said that when the human body dies his mind continues to live. Well, that one is debatable. I for one do not believe this latter statement. It is devoid of factual bases. I think that our brain conceives our thoughts, which make up the entirety of our mind. Therefore, if the brain dies the mind ceases to exist.
That, however, is beside the point I’m trying to make. Most men have their limitations when it comes to physical activity. Miraculously however, mental faculties are unaffected. The mind may even boost the retiring body to action. It has a morphine effect that masked the pain and pushes the body to endure.
So that, often, many civil servants continue to go to work and insist on performing their bounden duty notwithstanding their physical handicap. Resultantly, the delivery of public service diminishes. These old aged public servants believe that they can still render the services they used to give during their younger years. It is their belief that causes the problem. Their minds say that they’re still able and capable, so much so that poor public servants, continue on working until they reach their mandatory retiring age of sixty-five. They could have retired from service earlier and enjoyed the remaining prime years of their lives to relaxation. Who can blame them anyway, with the benefits available from the GSIS after the retirement of the public servants, they’d rather continue receiving their salaries in the active service. Planning your retirement with the GSIS pension and benefit packages is like planning on your early demise. Filing your retirement papers is like buying a casket ahead of time. Employees in the government are the greatest whiners so they say. That is true. A contented person never whines. A sufficient retirement plans and packages put a halt on the whining retiring government employees.
I would like to share to you a short story of an employee in the government service whom despite his age and impaired hearing ability has kept on rendering services to the judiciary because his brilliant mind is still sharp and continues on functioning rather very well.
Inside a courtroom during a hearing a witness took the witness stand, after taking the oath, the prosecutor offered the testimony of the witness as evidence for the prosecution, thereafter, he proceeded to propound his questions to the witness. It is noticeable that the presiding judge has a difficulty listening to the questions asked and the answers of the witness to the same because of his impaired hearing ability. Such that, every time the witness answers the question of the prosecutor the presiding judge taps the attentive court interpreter’s shoulder and asks, “what did he say?” The interpreter repeats the answer of the witness to the almost deaf judge for the latter to jot on his notes.
During the middle of the reception of the testimony of the witness the prosecutor asks the witness, “ while walking along the street at that time was there extraordinary event that transpired, if any?” and the witness replies, “I saw the accused walking towards me.” The presiding judge taps the shoulder of the court interpreter and asks, “what did he say?” The court interpreter repeats again the answer to the judge almost shouting so that the judge could hear it, “I saw the accused walking towards me, your honor!” the judge nodded and say “please continue.”
Then again, the prosecutor asks another question, “While the accused was walking towards you, what happened next?” The witness answers, “he shouted invectives and berated me.” For the nth time the deaf judge taps the shoulder of the court employee and inquires, “what did he say?” The court employee repeats the answer, “he shouted invectives and berated me, your honor!” this time though the interpreter is really shouting the repeated answer quite very loud.
The prosecutor propounded a follow up question, “what exact word did the accused utter to you Mr. Witness?” The witness said, “putang ina mo.” As expected the judge taps again the interpreter’s shoulder and asks, “what did he say?” The interpreter, now a bit agitated, repeats the answer to the judge in a very loud voice, “PUTANG INA MO, your honor!!!”
Had it not been for the hearing impairment of the presiding judge you would take that the court interpreter is berating the honorable judge, or is he?
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