Extremes (31/3/2003)
I was taught to finish every meal even for a single
piece of rice in my bowl since I was very small, as the same as most other Chinese
kids did. Recently I have deeper feelings towards the foods in front of me.
Since the time I had chicken pox, I have much
more time to observe my grand parents’ daily living, and heard more stories
when they were still in their home village when they were kids.
In Chinese New Year, some special festival,
and the wedding ceremony for ordinary families, they make their own festival
food. The typical Chinese New Year assorted sugar-preserved nuts and melons, the
huge giant wedding cake (pie) …… My grand mother can tell me in very deep
detail how to make each of them. But I really can’t recall that. Many other
things too – catching shrimps in the river near the village, collecting fruits
when playing around, the so-called near-by market place, the ‘hakka’ fish hookers,
the running-around animals…
My grand mother’s father family was quite a ‘knowledged’
family. That may gave the reason why she can have education up to primary 5
level. But after many difficult times, she is still left by her sons and daughters
and not many of them understand and know how to care about her. Though she’s
living with grand father and one of my uncles, she’s always very boring and lonely.
So I tried my best to accompany and cheer her as much as possible.
When I’m eating with my grand parents, I try
to read their mind from their face. And one thing very reflective is that, I found
that what a person need is very simple – a stable environment, and enough providence.
We usually sit in front of the TV when eating.
The recent Gulf War and SARS were too upsetting. I really don’t have good appetite
in watching these news. When I’m holding this bowl of rice, there are many
alarms calling, shootings, fighting, missiles passing through houses and lives
somewhere in this world. Foods are thrown to the squeezing crowd of anxious hungry
people, damaged houses are shown, coffin of the dead raised up high in the
crying and screaming procession.
At many other side of the world, people
marching on streets, erecting anti-war slogans, debating whether it’s justified
to disarm Saddam Hussein. Police force the people to leave, because the
government choose to stand at the US’ side.
Then followed by the atypical pneumonia news,
with most updated figure of people inflected, or suspected to be inflected, and
died, in Hong Kong and around the world. Followed by high government officials,
who slowly announcing plans to act against the disease, everyday new.
While putting the rice into my mouth, I
wonder, what an amazing grace that I can still sit comfortably and eat safely.