Today, something odd happened to me, slightly concerning but which, fortunately, ended on a positive note and with deep reflection.
They're doing some renovations in my office, so I sat down at a café table to work. I had with me an old HP laptop running FreeBSD. Ferrara is generally a peaceful city, but lately, some groups of youngsters have been causing trouble, going around bothering people, and in extreme cases, starting fights.
Today, it was my turn.
As they roamed around trying to provoke others, two of them approached me and began touching my laptop. They mocked me, jesting (not so playfully) about how ancient my computer was and how "they needed a computer," picking it up and examining it. Politely, I told them I needed it for work and it had all my files, so I couldn't just hand it over. It was broad daylight, but no one else was around at that moment. One of them noticed something unusual - "Where's the Windows menu? Is this Linux?"
"No, it's FreeBSD. Have you ever heard of it?" Their surprised expressions said it all. The entire group gathered, sat on the ground, and listened intently for about 15 minutes. I stalled, hoping for other people to arrive, so I wasn't alone.
Eventually, they got up, told me I was "old" but cool, and that they would immediately try out the BSDs (they were particularly intrigued by OpenBSD's security features - which they didn't grasp fully but saw as "professional hacker stuff"). They gave me a high-five, peacefully, without bothering anyone further.
Now, I'm left wondering: did they leave me alone because they learned something intriguing from me, because other people arrived, or are they just bored teenagers causing issues to pass the time - and got engrossed in something new, hence shifting their focus temporarily? All I know is I was relieved to get back to my office and from there, hear the rain outside, which usually deters these boys from troubling others.
I can say that today, FreeBSD saved me from very different problems than it usually does 😃
In the days I was sick, I realized something: those who don't respect you when you're ill or vulnerable don't deserve your attention or respect. It means they're just trying to use you, not collaborate. Respect is something else entirely.
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My day started with a walk in the park. There was an elderly lady walking her little dog, and she decided to play with me. The lady was trying to go home, but the little one wanted to stay with me. Since we knew each other by sight, we agreed that the dog would stay with me all morning while she ran errands. In the late morning, she returned, and the dog happily went back home with her. I had the honor of spending a few hours of pure joy and carefreeness, rediscovering the pleasures of simple things.
Sometimes, in life, we should just take a few hours to stop and see the world through the eyes of a dog. #SimpleJoys#PositiveVibes#LifeLessons#DogLove
Sometimes you are Rosencrantz and sometimes you are Guildenstern. Either way, you end up dead and somebody else is Hamlet (which is not all it's cracked up to be either).