Divine Grace 8: Absentee landlord-neighbor appears at the right time!

Here is an episode where I describe how two unrelated happenings came in handy to save me from a big expense.

I bought my present house in the year 2008.  In this part of the country people rarely build a wall around their property.  The house I bought is in an old neighborhood and the house itself was built in the early 1980s.  There were fences in the rear and sides.

Before buying the property, We go through detailed procedures to ensure that the property is free and clear.  The property boundaries are available in what is called the legal plat available from the city or county office.

I was perhaps the third owner of this property.  We do not bother about surveying to verify the property boundaries when we buy the property even though there is no permanent structure to define the boundaries of properties.

Around 2010 or so, something pushed me to have my property surveyed.  I engaged a property surveyor and got the property surveyed to match with the legal plat.  I got the property corners established.  This helped me realize that the fence along the Eastern side of my property was about 11 feet inside my property.  I was able to convince my neighbor and got the existing fence removed and put a new fence, thus reclaiming 11 feet of land along the Eastern boundary.

Fast forward to  December 2016.  One cold morning I got a phone call.  The male voice at the other end said something about a tree.  I thought some tree service outfit was trying to sell me some tree service and responded accordingly.  It turned out it was my neighbor to my rear (South of us) was calling to report that a tree from my property had fallen and caused damage to his property.  I went to that side of my house and was shocked to find the damage to his deck and a window.   (By God's grace, nobody was hurt or injured.  The occupants are a couple and a boy 7 or 8 years old.)

I called my home insurance company and they started processing the claim.  The tree that fell was a dead tree.  As per Georgia law, if the dead tree of one owner caused damage to another property, then the owner of the tree is liable.   Next day I went out to my back yard to see the fallen tree at close quarters.  I was able to see that the tree was not in my property after all.  This I was able to notice as the property corner pin set  by the surveyor was still there and the tree was well outside of that corner.

I called my home insurance company as well as my neighbor to explain this and had hard time convincing them because the tree was to my side of the fence separating my property and the neighbor's property!

At this point I need to mention one more item:  The owner of the property to my west does not live here; nor was the house rented and hence it was unoccupied.  The yard was maintained by some maintenance crew but I saw the owner - an elderly lady - only once or twice since 2008.  She was in Pennsylvania attending to here aged father and was visiting here for a brief stay of a day or two.

The dead tree that caused damage was in her property as established by my property survey.

As I was struggling and stressing how to convince my home insurance company and my south-side neighbor, this lady appeared out of the blue!  I could meet her and she said she was fixing to move in shortly.  I was able to take her to where the tree was and show her the dead tree that caused the damage was in her property.

That helped resolve my dilemma and I was off the hook as far as the liability for the damage was concerned.

Now, that lady did not move and has not shown herself again since that visit of 2017 January (as of December 2018)!

Divine Grace 7 -Photo Opp With Test Cricket Skipper

I am narrating some events or episodes from my life.  These are all events that happened totally unexpected and unplanned for.  As they are also pleasant or happy events, I tend to take these as the play of Divine Hand.  

The one I am about to narrate is one which would be thrilling to any youngster.

This happened in the year 1960.  We were on our educational tour.  The tour lasted about a month.  We covered most of North India and Eastern parts.  The Taj Mahal was of course one of the spots.

It was a full moon day - I remember because the Professor who arranged and accompanied us was boasting how he cleverly set it up so that we visit the Taj on a full moon day and enjoy the beauty to its full extent!

Six - myself, N. Rajagopalan, S. Venkatesan, R.K. Visvanath, A. K. Somanathan and T. D. Sundara Babu - of us always moved together. RKV carried a camera with him.  Suddenly Somu spotted the Australian cricket captain - Richie Benaud.  It was a pleasant coincidence that the Australian Cricket team was also visiting the Taj the same day as us!  One of us - if I remember correct, it was RKV. - approached Benaud and asked if it is OK to take a snap with him.  He said OK.  

How elated we felt to take a photo with the Test Cricket skipper of Australia!  Unfortunately, I have misplaced the photo and am not able to add it here.  However, I have found a photo of Richie Benaud in the net and have placed it here.

Richie Beneaud

Divine Grace 6 - How One Person's Career Was Found in an Instant!

How a casual inquiry of an old class mate in a bus resulted in a successful career for my brother

We all know how it goes - finding or settling in one's career.  These days parents start guiding or channeling children towards a favourite career such as Medicine, Engineering, etc from a very early age!  With abundant options and improving career opportunities worldwide, youngsters start making plans from their high school days.  This is applicable particularly where the parents are well informed and are themselves financially and professionally well off.  

In our days - pre 1980 - we had limited educational institutions, options and guidance.  We just go through a pattern of education and hope to get employed gainfully after graduation.  Those who are good with mathematics choose "first" group and proceed to Engineering or math/science majors.  Then there were those who would move towards the "second" group with a view to proceed to medicine.  Then others choose arts and get into administrative services or law.  Many however end up in one of many clerical or banking jobs.  Most of the time the process after successfully graduating is to keep applying until a job is secured.

Very rarely is one's entire career decided by one chance meeting between two persons.  Here is one such account  from my life.

One of my brothers had just graduated.  His degree was B.A. from the University of Madras.  He had no idea as to what to do next and none of us elders were any better informed either.

Then it happened!  I was in a city bus and saw my school class mate also in the same bus.  We were seeing each other after may be 10 years.  We both were in the bifurcated program of Engineering, Composite Mathematics group during our High School days.

"Hello!  Guru.  How do you do?"  
"Doing fine Muthu.  Glad to see you after a long time.  What are you doing these days?" 
"I am an Assistant Professor at the School of Planning and Architecture.  What do you do?"  
"Muthu, I am a practicing Chartered Accountant"  
"How does one get to be a CA?" 
" Any graduate can become one.  It starts with joining a practicing CA and passing qualifying exams."  
"I see.  I have a brother who has just come out of college.  He has a B.A."  "Why don't you bring him in?"  

I took note of his office address and by this time his destination had come and he got off the bus. 

Next day I took my brother to his office.

Rest, as they say is his(s)tory.  My brother is a successful practicing CA.