Consequences of Overwork

[Quote of the post] You wouldn't want to walk a mile in my shoes. They're too dirty.
[Song of the post] So Happy Together - Purple Alert

There once was a young man who went away to another country for a long time to study. He was out of touch with his parents and friends for four years. When he finally graduated he made a phone call back home.

"Hello? Mum? Dad?"

"Son! You've graduated! Oh, this is wonderful! You'll be coming home now?"

"Yes, but before I do, I need to ask you a favour."

"Go on, son, anything for our university graduate."

"I have a friend here. Can I bring him home as well?"

"Yes, of course."

"There's something else. He's not what you would call the best person in the world. He's lost in his own fantasy world, cynical, sarcastic, and doesn't help out much. I want him to stay with us."

"What? Dear, how did you make friends with that sort of person? We can't have that sort of person living in our house! Forget him, and come home."

The young man hung up, and made another phone call to his friends.

"Hi! Long time no see! How are you!"

"Good. Listen, I have a favour to ask."

"Wait, this calls for a celebration! When you get back, come over and we'll throw you a big party!"

"Great, great... but I need to ask you something. I have a friend here, and I want to bring him over."

"Why, by all means! A friend of yours is a friend of ours!"

"But I have to tell you something. He's depressed and overworked underneath, but he shows a positive exterior. He helps people not because he means it, but because it's the right thing to do. He's two-faced, cynical, and confused. I want to introduce him to you."

"Huh? Your friend sounds like a real troublemaker! What type of person is that? Come home, lah, forget about this 'friend', and we'll celebrate like there's no tomorrow!"

"There might not be," said the young man, and hung up.

Two days later, the body of the young man was lying at the bottom of a cliff. His family and friends were called over to identify the body. "Yes, that's him," they said over snuffled sobs.

"We think it was suicide," the police said. "Did he say anything to you before this?"

"Nothing, only that he had a friend that he wanted to bring back home."

But... he never had any friends," a teacher from the university the young man studied at was at the scene as well. "He never had any friends. Everytime I saw him, he was always by himself."

-----

There once was a soldier who returned from the Vietnam War. He made a call from his camp in San Francisco to his hometown in Chicago.

"Hello? Mum and dad?"

"Hey son! You're back from the war! How's things?"

"I'll be coming home soon, dad. But I need to ask you a favour."

"Go ahead, son!"

"I made a friend here. I want to bring him home with me."

"That's fine with me, son."

"There's something else. He's lost an arm and a leg. I want him to live with us."

"No, son, we can't do that. We can invite him in for a short time, but we can't support him forever. Do you know how hassling it will be to take care of a handicap in our house? Come home, son, forget about him, he'll find his own piece of heaven somewhere else." The soldier hung up.

Two days later, they found the body of the soldier at the foot of a building. The police suspected suicide. His parents were called in to identify the body.

They did. But the soldier only had one arm and one leg.