by Jean Lin
paul n. a person who is robbed easily to be pauled v. to be robbed paulish adj. robbable We all know the saying, “Some people have all the luck.” I have no idea where this proverb originated, but I’m sure they forgot to add one word. That is, some people have all the bad luck. My friend, Paul, is one of those people. This summer, a lot of my friends coincidently chose to go to Europe. Before we went, of course, we heard endless horror stories of how tourists got ripped off, and how passports could get stolen. But the thing is, the only one who got robbed in Europe was Paul. Four times! There must be a catch somewhere. Are there seriously certain types that get robbed, and is my friend Paul one of them? Most of you probably remember the French movie Amelie, with its beautiful setting in the Montmarte of Paris. Cute little souvenir shops, pigeons and merry-go-rounds. But to Paul, Montmarte was a nightmare. Innocent and unknowing, Paul was happily shopping for little trinkets such as Eiffel Tower key chains in a petit souvenir store, when a hand reached from behind him and tried to take his wallet out of the side pocket of his shorts. Most people would react immediately, yelling “Thief!” or “Help!” – but my friend Paul stayed quite calm and simply pulled his wallet back from the thief and put it back in the same pocket. Can you blame the thief for wanting a second go? So Paul was robbed a second time. (Mentally replay the first robbery, please.) When Paul’s frightening Paris stay was over, he went to Milan. Sitting on a nice park bench, sun shining down on the magnificently large map he was looking at, Paul was approached by a handsome stranger. The stranger asked for a lighter and engaged Paul in light conversation. While talking, Paul noticed that the stranger’s hand was inching towards his backpack, and simply watched while the hand unzipped his bag and took out his wallet. Something struck Paul as fishy, and reluctantly letting his great map fall from his hands, he seized his wallet and put it into the side pocket of his shorts. Quickly stuffing his map in his bag, Paul got up and walked away as fast as his legs could carry him. The stranger kept up and told Paul not to be afraid. Paul almost believed him until he felt his side pocket unzipping. The stranger had struck again. Is there a moral to this story? (By the way, it’s true.) I guess most of you can learn several travel tips from this. For example, never put your wallet back into the same place after somebody has tried to take it from you. Avoid reading large colorful maps at all times because it makes you a good target. But I think the real point is, if you look too nice and innocent, just stay home. Or maybe there is no moral, just simply that some people have all the bad luck. #Volume 8 Issue 1 a
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May 2024
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