That Which Worth A Thousand Words
A picture is worth a thousand words - and it is hence that Muggles around the world take pictures wherever they go, as evidence that you’ve really been to one place - supported the leaning tower of Pisa with your arms, sat at Emperor Shih’s seat in the Forbidden City (forgive me, I never really learnt Chinese history), or stepping on the Greenwich Meridian Line.
Over time this old computer of mine collected enough memorable pictures to be showcased here today - pictures that portray something but signifies another, that’s what makes them valueless.
A kid photographed moments prior to touch-down in KLM from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. His Dad, who stayed up all through the 12-hour journey, standing behind him. This little kiddo and his family caught my attention from the first moment they boarded the aircraft. Daddy was seated two or three seats away from Mummy (toddlers were not assigned seats, provided if you pay the cash for it). Perhaps they were late for check-in, they boarded the aircraft rather late too, and Daddy was frustrated to find the overhead compartments all full with our stuff (exchange students, what to do?). He crams his luggage into the compartments nonetheless, threathening the doors to tear apart, and was seated. However, the constant and non-stop gargling of Dutch to Mummy two seats apart was too much for the Indonesian seated in between them. He offered him his seat, just beside Mummy, and they were more than pleased to accept the offer. Soon after take-off Little Kiddo started to wail for milk, and the blue KLM crew whizzed around with baby biscuits and baby food from the galley before Daddy stood up and with a thunderous ‘plump!’ opened the overhead compartment. Food wasn’t a pacifier good enough for Little Kiddo, at a little after 2am Little Kiddo burst into a series of sobs and intermitten wails that continued on till 5.30am. Daddy and Mummy constantly switched pacifying Kiddo during the entire journey.
Breakfast time sees Little Kiddo soundly asleep. For the first time in 8 hours, Daddy got a chance to eat something, and it was the rubbery airline omelette processed and cooked 16 hours before, loaded into the aircraft and kept warm for 10 hours.
2 hours before touchdown Little Kiddo woke up to a fresh morning, while Mum and Dad constantly yawned and fell into slumberland at 10am. The captain announced preparation for touchdown, and Little Kiddo was excited. He started grabbing hold of seats and tray tables, wanting some exercise after 10 long hours of solidary confinement in a 25 x 32-inch space. He somehow managed to stand up and look behind him to my friend’s camera, and this momentous occassion was recorded with a Cannon. It was a legacy, and a tired memory of how on long plane rides you should always avoid taking along Kiddo-s.
A piece of tainted glass my host Dad gave me before I leave Italy, with Malaysia Airlines economy class cabin baggage tag on top (the baggage tag is just the icing, let’s focus on the cake). My host Dad presented this perfectly squared glass one day before I am scheduled to leave, perhaps never seeing them again for the rest of my life. I wrapped it with my towel and jacket and placed this fragile being in the centermost past of my baggage. After traveling through 4 airports, 20 hours of fights and 3 airlines, this ornament arrived safely. My host Dad said in Italian, translated by my host sister that the sun signifies ‘coldness of the Italian winter’ while the mountains are the two mountains I’ve visited during my stay (I don’t really remember the names now, regrettably). The rest are left to my interpretation. Perhaps this glass was hung in a secluded corner at home, it took me two long years to finally figure out what this piece of art meant. Observe the colours - the yellowish taint of the Sahara, the azure blue of the Carribean, the icy blue of the Scandinavian plains, the jade green of the Amazon, and the tranquil green of the rainforests - everything under one roof (or two mountains). And once I figured this, it took me straightaway to the answer. Connect Malaysia and Italy in one straight line, extending either easterly (over the Americas) or westerly (over Africa), and you can observe all these colours, the natural colours of the world. It is an item of memory, that I now had experienced the life of the light-green zone (Malaysia) and the icy blue zone (Alps weather), as well as a token of blessing - to bless the short-sighted Jun Yi to explore lives of all the other colour zones in his life. The world is too wonderful for one to stay put, stretch out and experience, it says, because soon you won’t have the chance as Earth meets its ultimately demise, and hence the weakening sun. Mountains are challenges in life that you must face everyday in your life, and another mountain conquered is another icing topped (remember the baggage tag now?).
See, a picture is truly worth a thousand words.
