God Bless You!

One cold winter I was walking through Oakland, the university town surrounding the University of Pittsburgh. Life in the west was always busy then. To them winter is just a season. A passing season. Life just goes on. Never stopping for one moment. Americans simply enjoy their lives. Sometimes changing weather are most welcome. A change in life style. Doing something new. Pursuing something long awaited. Walking through town in winter could be romantic. Remember the old song by Frank Sinatra. Strangers in the night, walking together ……

Strangers in the night, exchanging glances
wondering in the night, what were the chances

something in your eyes was so inviting
something in your smile was so exciting
something in my heart told me I must have you

strangers in the night
two lonely people, we were strangers in the night
up to the moment when we said our first hello little did we know
love was just a glance away, a warm embracing dance away

and

ever since that night we've been together
love at first sight in love forever
it turned out right for strangers in  the night


love was just a glance away, a warm embracing dance away

and

ever since that night we've been together
love at first sight in love forever
it turned out right for strangers in  the night

love was just a glance away, a warm embracing dance away
ever since that night we've been together
love at first sight in love forever
it turned out right for strangers in the night.


Wow! It was sometime ago. In 1961 to be excact. A  very long time ago. In the sixties. If my memory is right I was in love at that time when I first heard that song. How I wish I was that song. How romantic.

Oakland was always busy. I guess it is busier now. After 26 years it should have grown tremendously. Engulfing the university. Until now I could not imagine the demarcation line. The boundry that separate the town and the university. All merging into one. Nothing at all that denotes any separation. The students were enjoying their lives as if the were in a distant town. For sure, Oakland is part of the greater Pittsburgh now. Development must have been converging around the university. Yes the university was and is still the vital landmark of Pittsburgh. The pride of her citizens. They adore it. Wishing every child that they have has the opportunity to be schooling at Pitts. Yes at Pitts.

If you watch videos or films produced in the States, please never believe everything that is portrayed. It is just the world of make belief. Sort of social emancipation. Or just psychological escapism. The truth is far beyond. I was there and I never saw everything. It is a fag. A situation of high morality but exploited to the point that it is supposed to be life at its best. Mind you. I was there for the full 18 months. More than 450 days. On films, boys and girls are kissing each other like nobody’s business. Especially college students. They are supposed at their elements. In reality I saw none except once.  On a cold winter night. A couple was showing their affection to each other.  In love. Witnessed by the cold night. The wide world. Void of the emptiness. Void of the coldness. They warmed their hearts and their feelings to each other. That was their world. They dearly created that moment. Cherished forever. They would like to come back to that spot again and again. Remembering the moment. The long lasting moment.

Pittsburgh was a sane city. I hope they preserve that status. Way back in 1985 it was voted the number one city in the whole of USA. The most liveable city. That’s right. In the whole of USA. How lucky I was. I and my family was part of it. I was there. A pleasure to be there. I really enjoyed my stay. A lot of memories. Nice and treasured. How I wish to be back there again. To relive those years gone by. Part of my soul is still there.  The city was calm. Less crime. Full of hope and opportunity. Every citizen has the opportunity to live to the fullest possible.

I was strolling in that winter night. I was of course shivering to my bones. As a foreign student that was my first winter. Familiarising my life over there. Getting used to the harsh winter. To the Americans winter was nothing. They were not wearing gloves. Some were bold enough not to drape their bodies with thick clothing. To them winter is just something normal. A bit colder maybe. Nothing much. Not a big deal. They can withstand anything worse than that. I was never expecting something so bizarre to me. They jog in winter! In cold winter. Donning their shorts and singlets. Can you imagine at all. Correct. Winter is just part of their lives. They live with it.

You know what? In winter I always felt the terrible coldness. To some extent sometimes I felt my head was simply throbbing. Feeling drowsy. Most often sneezing. My nose was watering all the while. That winter night I sneezed quite loudly. Well I was English educated. From remove class until form five. My alma mater was High School Batu Pahat. Somewhere in Johore. What a coincidence. I am now living close to my old school. A mere half a kilometer away. Almost everyday I pass through the school.  Well, that was my contact with British customs and culture. I learned their ways of life. When I sneezed, I immediately said, “Excuse me!” Guess what! People around me  replied, “God bless you!” Not one but a crescendo of voices. Never sure how many of them. My, I was caught completely by surprised. Yes! They still uphold their culture. I was wrong in not expecting it. Something that has been in their blood will not be discarded easily. But when I come back to my dear land, my country, sometimes I missed those cultures that I once saw very abundant. Life has changed so much. The elders have lost their touch. The youngs refuse to uphold the lives so dear to their elders. Instead they are embracing cultures alient to the people. At he end of it they lose their identity. They lose their entity. Lost into anonymity.

Senior citizens like me always try to pass on whatever there is left in our system. To impart not only knowledge but also the whole inheritance. The system is what that made us today.   It really hurt seeing everything being eroded away. Bit by bit those that were dear to us are being deplored. Discarded as not relevant anymore. That was our heritage. Our beginning. Our blood, flesh and soul. We live by it for a long time. Maybe globalisation has taken that social treasure. Our roots. The world of reality has taken over. Humans are imitating robots. Many of us have lost the feeling. Lost the sense of what we were before. Deviated from the norm. Being mechanised. Huminity at risk. Could be nation at risk. Worst still, religion at risk. Please take stock, we could lose everything so dear to us. Before you realise it one day you may wake up losing everything.