The Kite Runner...

I just finished up reading this book recommended 'highly' by Aiman. My lovey wife said, "Hey you can just watch this movie you know? No need to read." But I bought the book anyway... I guess, reading it, will do justice and further more, when I read the stories, I will immersed myself in my own imagination on how the situation will take place in real life. How the experience relates to my own.

Aiman reviewed the book saying a lot of things about friendship, but as I read thru, I can't stop thinking about my dad. He is not as tough, strict and hard headed like Baba Jan... my dad is the most down to earth and nicest person that I ever know of... he is only up to my shoulder height, fair skin, well-build (he is a farmer and a loyal government servant). He always did his best when he is up for something. He is good very handy. Hardworking. Always trying to help other people although he knew that it is beyond him. Art lover... sincere. Will always do anything for his family. and has problem to ask something if it's for his own benefit...

How Baba Jan personality influence Amir in the Kite Runner story really makes me wonder, how much my dad has influenced my life. How he has made me the way I am now. How come a man who only finished form 3 knew that he has to send all his kids for boarding schools and later on into university, so that all of them will not ended up like him? How can he survived all this with only RM450 salary a month? How come a man who doesn't know a thing about English language and yet spent RM1000 to buy a radio with an english tapes so that his kids can learn this universal language.. and yet this was in 1983? When no one in that village hardly talk any english, except maybe the Medical Doctor at the local clinic where my dad worked at... Dr Samy.

Ayah has a 3acre palm oil plantation and we had to go there twice a month to harvest. It wasn't easy. I was only 11 when I asked my dad to let me do the most important job while harvesting... the hardest job ever... to bring down the ripe kelapa sawit with sabit myself. I had done this before but not for the whole 3acre. I only had my chance when ayah was too busy cleaning up the fallen leaves or bring out the 20kilos of kelapa sawit out to the collection point. I had a go for three to four tandan of kelapa before he resumed his job..

But that weekend, I asked him to give me the whole harvesting part to me. He reluctantly agreed. We completely switched our role. I bring down the fruit and he collected it and brought it out to the nearest collection point. I skillfully but very slowly brought them down one by one... managed to get half way of the 3acre all by myself and within the expected time. Sweat had been pouring all over and already got some blisters on my hands... By three quarter of the farm, I took even more rest than usual, a sign of me almost giving up.. and occasionally glanced at him, hoping that he would take over.. but he wasn't... just stood from distance away, waiting.. and waiting for the next tandan to be plucked off. To make things worst, rain started to fall and it makes it even harder to do the job.

By this time, all my blisters started to swell and some of them bled... so painful and I cried. I just threw the sabit away, and made a promise to myself, that I wouldn't do this job for a living. This was not the best way to earn money... it was just too hard. He didn't say a thing to me. He picked up the sabit and finished up my work... kept me to myself sampai lah dah nak balik, when he asked me to pack up and leave home.

My hand throbbed for the next two weeks before it finally healed. I was wondering of all the hard work that he had to endure just to make sure that we got the best education ever. He could just be selfish and kept all the money to himself like most of his friend did. He could just bought a small piece of land at his kampung and build a big mansion, like most of his friend. He could just bought of other people's farms and make more money out of it, just like his friends... but nope... he just did the opposite.

During "gajian" time, this was when he got paid for all the kelapa sawit that he harvested for that month. He would bring back some groceries and bought us 'sate'. And he will paid us our 'salary' for helping him out... and it was one of my proudest moment when I got much much more than my brothers... RM50 of my own good HARDwork. How he taught us the value of hard money, and how we have to earn it...