When I first knew him, he was a mechanic.
In fact, his brothers and relatives that I knew were all mechanics.
They had come to this small town from a nearby city 20 years ago.
They had made some headway and had individually set up their own mechanic shop.
*******
He was not that successful as a mechanic.
But he was friendly and helpful.
He made many friends and was very active in the local community.
He was a Jack of all trade and very skillful in many things.
Once he helped us in constructing the bathroom and toilet.
His work was meticulous and fast.
Once I asked him how was it that he knew a lot of things.
He told me softly that he took heart and learned.
I was amazed by his patience, humility and perseverance.
Since then, I considered him as my living example.
*******
I didn't hear anything about him for quite sometime.
Then I heard that he had a kidney or liver failure.
Since then, he no longer worked as a mechanic.
It must have been a very miserable time for him and his family.
Then I heard that he was making a lot of pau steamers.
And that he walked from shop to shop, looking for noodle shop owners and restaurants operators.
He requested them to allow him to sell chinese dumplings like char siew pau, bak pau, tau sar pau and siao bee in their venues.
He was indeed my living example.
I admired his high spirit, far-sightedness, and optimism.
*******
He made a good and decent living with his new found business venture.
His wife was a great help to him.
Together they also set up their own shop, selling chinese dumplings.
They worked day and night, making full use of all opportunities....
Once, I was told that his house was burgled.
He lost a lot of cash and many other things.
He was very upset and depressed for a while.
But he recovered fast and moved on....
I admired his resilience and mental toughness.
*******
For the past few weeks, I had been seeing him again,
Bringing his children and grandchildren around for breakfast.
He looked happy, talking softly to them, sometimes creating jokes.
But he looked old with sunken eyes, white sideburns, and lots of gray hairs....
We always greeted one another.
He was still very friendly and kind,
With lots and lots of friends around.
He is still my living example....
In fact, his brothers and relatives that I knew were all mechanics.
They had come to this small town from a nearby city 20 years ago.
They had made some headway and had individually set up their own mechanic shop.
*******
He was not that successful as a mechanic.
But he was friendly and helpful.
He made many friends and was very active in the local community.
He was a Jack of all trade and very skillful in many things.
Once he helped us in constructing the bathroom and toilet.
His work was meticulous and fast.
Once I asked him how was it that he knew a lot of things.
He told me softly that he took heart and learned.
I was amazed by his patience, humility and perseverance.
Since then, I considered him as my living example.
*******
I didn't hear anything about him for quite sometime.
Then I heard that he had a kidney or liver failure.
Since then, he no longer worked as a mechanic.
It must have been a very miserable time for him and his family.
Then I heard that he was making a lot of pau steamers.
And that he walked from shop to shop, looking for noodle shop owners and restaurants operators.
He requested them to allow him to sell chinese dumplings like char siew pau, bak pau, tau sar pau and siao bee in their venues.
He was indeed my living example.
I admired his high spirit, far-sightedness, and optimism.
*******
He made a good and decent living with his new found business venture.
His wife was a great help to him.
Together they also set up their own shop, selling chinese dumplings.
They worked day and night, making full use of all opportunities....
Once, I was told that his house was burgled.
He lost a lot of cash and many other things.
He was very upset and depressed for a while.
But he recovered fast and moved on....
I admired his resilience and mental toughness.
*******
For the past few weeks, I had been seeing him again,
Bringing his children and grandchildren around for breakfast.
He looked happy, talking softly to them, sometimes creating jokes.
But he looked old with sunken eyes, white sideburns, and lots of gray hairs....
We always greeted one another.
He was still very friendly and kind,
With lots and lots of friends around.
He is still my living example....
3 comments:
December 23, 2009 at 10:44 PM
I hope he is doing well. He must be a really good person. Life isn't always fair, but it is what we do with it that matters.
December 23, 2009 at 11:22 PM
Sounds like he's got a few things figured out in that he appears to regard personal relationships, reliability and other such "intangibles" as more important than making a quick buck. That's (dadly) a rare trait in this day and age.
The Hawg!
December 26, 2009 at 6:34 AM
I hope you and all your readers have a Merry Christmas
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