Stand Up for Patriotism

I was at the cinema last night and after all the advertisements were played out, I was surprised to hear, "Sila berdiri untuk lagu kebangsaan", after which Negaraku, our national anthem was played.

There was a slight hesitation but soon everyone, but a couple behind me, were up on their feet. I guess the government decided to go ahead with the less than popular idea to play the national anthem before every movie in celebration of the upcoming National Day.

Most of us did stand but almost certainly,  with the awareness that patriotism is about loyalty not to the leaders but to the country.

Unexpected Favour

I was in line to pass the toll booth in Setia Alam when I realised my line was closed due to a truck that was broken down right before it clear the toll. Much to the annoyance of the motorists on my left and right lane, all the vehicle started squeezing in to their queue.

A big truck on my left was adamant not to let me through. I didn't try to fight him. The truck behind it was even more aggressive,  driving even more closely to the vehicle in front than the first truck. I decided to wind down my window and with a light honk, gestured with my out stretched hand to let me pass. He wouldn't.

To my surprise, the truck in front, the same truck which refused to let me slip in front of him, stuck out his hand and beckoned me forward. I safely and easily drive in front of him and exited the toll booth, even as I lifted up my hand in thank and gave the driver a thumb up.

Not a bad ending to an uncomfortable situation. There is a Cantonese saying that goes 'sow yuin pak sow ngan', which basically means submitting to softness but not surrendering to hardness, or force. The driver apparently has the heart to helps others but does not want to be taken for a ride. But when I shows that I'm not out to take advantage of him, he willingly gave his help. It's nice to know we don't always have to fight hard and tough to get what we want. Sometimes all we have to do is ask and we may just find some kind souls who would.

Of course having receive such courtesy should means that we become ready to extend similar courtesies to others when the opportunities arise. Paying it forward. Ah... life is beautiful.

A Sales Peach

There is this shop in Yangshan, Wuxi that sells the best peaches in the whole of China, so said our local tour guide. Going for RMB180 a piece, the fruit is so tender that we can stick a straw into it and drink its fruit out.

He then shared how he once brought a tour of elderly couples to this shop but none of them bought any. Later that night, when the wives went shopping, he was surprised to find that the husbands were in fact very willing to splurge when they took him out drinking. Curious, he asked why are they so willing to pay for these expensive drinks but wouldn’t try the peaches. One of them laughingly answered, “The one at home isn’t a peach anymore, is she?”

He expressed to us his sadness over such answer. After so many years of being together, these women are now each being referred to as a peach no more and their husbands would not even waste RMB180 to bring a little joy to their wives. After all, wouldn’t it be a simple but wonderful thing to just buy one and share it with the wife? 

A sad but very real story but I also thought that with such a story being told, there is no way any man in the bus could get away with not buying a peach for the wife. What an effectively powerful sales pitch that story turned out to be. But then it could be just a sincere sharing by our local guide. After all he didn’t take us to that shop.  

It’s just as well. I imagine it would be really sad eating that big peach all by myself.