today i went with my family to the sim lim square food court for lunch. it's pretty difficult to make your way to a table, the spaces between the chairs are on the narrow side.
there was an old man carrying a tray with char siew rice and soup on it, and his hands kept shaking so the soup would slop out of its bowl onto the tray, and i only noticed him because he wanted to sit at a table behind us and he walked into the chair next to me, which my father hadn't pushed in when he got up to leave the table.
i turned just in time to see more soup slop over the edge of the bowl, and i felt unbearably sad. of course, it may just be hormones (yes, it is THAT time of the month) but he looked so alone. his white shirt looked ironed, his hair was neatly combed... it made me think of sunday best, and how church activities mean so much to old folks whose spouses have died, who live alone. which is, of course, why we should support the church even if we don't quite agree with the things going on there in general - but that's for another post. it's good to have some form of a support network for those struggling on through life without anyone.
and of course, whenever i see old folks alone, i think of jon and paul mccartney singing when i'm sixty-four, and wonder what life will be like for the one who has to see the other pass on. the statistics show that women live longer.
okay i'm not going to think about it!
i'm dreading having to live through at least four times of the month in beijing, what with the weather and what everyone says about the lack of sanitation. imagine having the most awful cramps when you have so much to do and weather to fight. we'll see.
there was an old man carrying a tray with char siew rice and soup on it, and his hands kept shaking so the soup would slop out of its bowl onto the tray, and i only noticed him because he wanted to sit at a table behind us and he walked into the chair next to me, which my father hadn't pushed in when he got up to leave the table.
i turned just in time to see more soup slop over the edge of the bowl, and i felt unbearably sad. of course, it may just be hormones (yes, it is THAT time of the month) but he looked so alone. his white shirt looked ironed, his hair was neatly combed... it made me think of sunday best, and how church activities mean so much to old folks whose spouses have died, who live alone. which is, of course, why we should support the church even if we don't quite agree with the things going on there in general - but that's for another post. it's good to have some form of a support network for those struggling on through life without anyone.
and of course, whenever i see old folks alone, i think of jon and paul mccartney singing when i'm sixty-four, and wonder what life will be like for the one who has to see the other pass on. the statistics show that women live longer.
okay i'm not going to think about it!
i'm dreading having to live through at least four times of the month in beijing, what with the weather and what everyone says about the lack of sanitation. imagine having the most awful cramps when you have so much to do and weather to fight. we'll see.
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