Tigerlilly - Lobsang Rampa

number of men in his service, these men are forced into duty
as part-timers, and so it happened with the Fire Chief. He had
sent one of his men out on his normal rounds, listening to the
sounds of the water from the reservoir, and checking that the
water was flowing through the pipes as it should. But then this
man, not one of the brightest individuals, came back and
reined in the pony, but just as he was starting to get down the
pony moved, resulting in the man catching the seat of his
trousers on the lamp bracket of the trap. Unfortunately he was
just in the process of jumping so, as he jumped first, his hopes
of future pleasures were almost ruined and the fabric of his
trousers gave out. He immediately rushed into the washroom,
and took off his trousers with the intention of stitching them
up so that he might appear in public again. At that moment,
just as he had removed his trousers, the fire alarm sounded,
and the man remembered he was on the roster for duty; in his
anxiety not to be late all thoughts of his trousers went out of
his mind and he rushed out to the fire engine. He jumped on as
the engine was moving out, and then the driver suddenly
stopped as he heard a roar of laughter at this man with his
fireman's helmet of shining brass, but without trousers, and his
shirt tail waving in the wind . . . One of the fellow firemen
tossed over a coat with which to cover the embarrassed man
and the poor fellow disappeared, no doubt to repair the off-
ending garment, his torn trousers.
Before we leave this interesting subject of water and its uses
I have to relate a little incident I read in The Albertan this
morning, December lst 1976 . . . A doctor was having trouble
and he found it necessary to call in a plumber, who was
quickly on the scene . . . The plumber set to and soon every-
thing was working well. ‘How much will that cost?’ enquired
the doctor. ‘Seventy-five dollars,’ said the plumber. ‘What!’
answered the doctor. ‘My fee would be less than a quarter of
what you are asking.’ ‘So was mine when I was a doctor,’
laughed the plumber.
Perhaps, like me, you have heard that one before, but it
gives one cause for a little thought as to how things are
changing. Rich plumber. Poor doctor.
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