Should we help others?

This straightforward question started troubling my mind when I encountered a situation which is quite common for all.

Recently I had to go to the railway station to pick up my wife as my happy days as forced bachelor were coming to an end with the arrival of my wife from her mother’s place. She always insisted on me picking her up from the station. Possibly she wanted to read my expressions on encountering her after a lull. But I am doubly sure even if the expectations on the expressions were not up to the mark she is not going to catch a return train back home in any case?

This time I had started quite early for the station as I had a booklet of complaints by her as well as all my relatives that I always arrive late. They blame me for not taking enough margins before starting. But my question is how enough is enough? Generally I try to apply the theorems of probability combined with the art of extrapolation and predictive assessment before starting from home. All these factors fetch me good results in my day to day official work. Now if they fail on personal front, I can only attribute it to the force majeure clause. In simple words it is my tryst with the traffic that always put me on the hot spot.

Our city is notorious for ever increasing traffic. This is the city where the rise in the fuel prices never makes any significant effect. The slim-trim roads of the city keep bulging with traffic notwithstanding their capacity. Imagine as if a zero-figure personality had swallowed a number of pumpkins. It is like a car rally without the speed clause. How good it would be if we cut those cars into four pieces and let only the driver take on to the roads. Anyways most of the cars run with all remaining seats vacant.

This traffic only takes all my scientific calculations towards reaching in time to a toss. All my margins get marginalized with the flouting nature of this traffic. I feel people purposely bring their vehicles on roads to tease me. The traffic signals appear to reduce the time counters for green lights to a bare minimum possibly only to check if the green light glows! Deliberately the corporation people start digging on the roads leading to the slow movement of the traffic. Even the breakdown of some vehicle on road appears to be pre-planned just to make sure that I cut a sorry figure in front of my wife or the relatives. And, despite all these odds, if I reach only 20 or 30 minutes late to the station, is that my fault?

But this time I added the factor of safety also into account which landed me at the station about 30 minutes in advance. I decided to wait at the designated platform because as per the wife’s receiving protocol, I need to be present at the door of the railway coach at the time she comes out. I should grab the luggage before any other porter can offer his services.

Next…..the help part