Willing

Billionaire baubles
by Doris Athineos

Athineos wrote:"Tobacco Heiress Doris Duke was best knows as the richest girl in the world, but she was also one of the hippest. Duke was always more bohemian then Brahman, and she died the way she lived-in a cloud of controversy.

Her final nose thumbing act was to leave an illiterate butler in charge of her billion-dollar fortune when she died in 1993 at age 80. A few years later, all was made well then New York court dismissed the butler for incompetence and appointed new trustee. Soon the Duke Charitable Foundation was back on track, doling out dollars to Duke's favorite charities. But tabloids are still more interesting digging up dirt on her than in the dirt Duke dug while planting 11 garden at Duke Farms, her 2,700-acre private estate in New Jersey."

I blog: Well, after reading Ms. Duke's will to butler my question to you is....., Is that strange?? My answer is..................., "Nop! Not at all." We, no one will know what is the truth reason for her to let the butler incharge of her mountain huge fortune. But in others cases, sometime I do understand why they leave their fortune to a totally nonblood realtive person's hands.

I have seen in many people's life that strangers is closer, better, loving and caring than your own blood or your own family.

Here are some I saw with my eyes and my own experience.

1. Robins's uncle left 6 numbers figure US dollars to this little church in Camden, Al. Why? Because......, the love of his believing in Christ, the love of his church members who made him feel closer than his own family (except his own brother, who loves him dearly). I have seen how many years this man spent his Christmas times with his church families than his own relative family. I can write more but I better stop here. I will be in trouble if I go into deeper. I do understand why this uncle will it his money to the church. I do.....

3. One of the old man who I knew left 250,000USD to his maid. Why? He knows who is willing to listen or to cheer him up or to do things for him ALMOST EVERY DAYS. Lots of people think this man is crazy or Sex maniac. Let me tell you there are so many crazy maniac people but they do left their money to their family but not to the maid. What make me so confuse is this man has only one son and why his son did not get it all? There might be a reason.

3. There was a lady who I did not know her but I am a good friend to her sister and her friends. When she die she left all her expensive, good location land and house to her best friend. Why? This lady also has a son who is not even an adopted. There might be some reasons.

Here is my own experiences. When I was living in Guatemala there was a German lady, her name is Erica who lived the same building where I lived! Erica is a tough, firm faced, unlikable look, non smiling and rarely talked. I can say she did not talk to no one unless necessary.

I met Erica in the lift in and out many times but she never passed a "Hello" to me. I thought this lady do not like Chinese!!! One day I said to myself I am going to say "Hello" to this lady see what she is going to do to me. I did!!! I did start one day to her "Hello, how are you?" with my huge smile. I did it in English as she look so white lady and did not know where she's from yet. I remembered vividly this is what she said to me, "Bien" mean "Good" but even not "Gracia" mean, "Thank You" to me.

After I learn that she has no one family in Guatemala beside her maid but she did had a few distant family who live in Germany who they never visited to her nor call her in those all 10 year I lived the same building with her. How I know? Remember, she became one of my best friends and I did asked and I did noticed that no one visited to her. I am sure they will love to have Erica's 2 coffee farms when she died.

Erica married to a handsome German Major. After only a few years they got married, he died in battle. Erica has no children. From that my "Hello", which is unwilling accepted by her, we became a good friends. I do care about her because she was a lone and I was alone in the first years of my living in Guatemala.

I send some food often to her, she came up to my flat often (which I learn later that the only floor that she visited), we had wine together or I went down to her flat to watch her drinking Vodka so deliciously which I hate it, theVodka. She loved to tell me about her young life, her husband (specially) and why she came to Guatemala.

Erica lived on in come from her 2 Coffee farms. She did had a good comfortable life in Guatemala. Later years she asked me to keep her check books, she gave me her antique radio and her diamonds and jewellery. She came up to my flat to give me her jewellery bag. I refused all of those offered because I made friend with her for not to get advantage on her. I made friend with her because she was very lonely, her life attracted to me. She found that I am good to her and ofcourse I truly like her a lot. She even like my Robins!! Oh, she was mad at me for not to taking care of her check book.

My point is............, if you truly care someone in good nature without expecting, I am not sure that you will get the material or not but I am very sure that you will get back love, respect and care from the person who you love, respect and care. Trust me on that. If you love some one truly the rest will come along!

There is a good reason why my God said to us:

"Love your neighbour."

Erica, I miss you time to time. I don't know what you are drinking now but I miss our wine and vodka time together and the chat that we shared. Thank you for sharing your time when I was in Guatemala. I need that too.

PS. Erica's funeral was only 4 people attended. There were 2 from Germany Embassy, 1 lawyer and me.