FROM THE BARREL OF MY PEN
By Gonzalo “Jun” Policarpio

ALWAYS TAKE A SECOND LOOK

Wise men say “don’t judge the book by its cover.”

The judges at a British singing contest a la American Idol style seemed to have committed this mistake in their minds as shown in their facial expressions when an ugly-looking shapeless middle-aged contestant sang the Les Miserables theme song, “I Dreamed a Dream” like world-famous Broadway singer Lea Salonga and stunned the whole world. International press is now calling the “believe it or not” singer, Susan Boyle as an upcoming superstar.

I have also been guilty of ignoring what the wise men say in so many situations in the past.

I once thought of a mild-mannered, smiling well-dressed gentleman to be a man of compassion and honesty. He turned out to be a scammer and a swindler. He finally got arrested, convicted, and sentenced in court.

A friend told me of his experience with an exquisitely alluring female date. She turned out to be a guy dressed in sexy women’s clothing.

I know of many so-called spiritual or religious persons who always speak of the value of becoming holy and prophesy about the end of the world. Some of them are nothing less than “false prophets” whose main focus is your wallet or a beautiful innocent young girl.

Somebody told me that she once saw a regular looking matured gentleman with a worn-out wallet driving an old model car and wearing a very cheap suit. He turned out to be the richest person in the world, Warren Buffet.

Thought for today: During the Vietnam War, our American generals thought the Vietnamese irregular forces known as the Vietcong were no match with our well-trained soldiers. What happened?

End