2014.09.15 14:18
The Stranger A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around us from then on. As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger... he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies. If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind. Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.) Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home - not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our long time visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol but the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.. I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked ... And NEVER asked to leave. More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. We just call him 'TV.' He has a wife now....we call her 'Computer' Their first child is 'Cell Phone' Second child 'I Pod' And a Grandchild: 'IPAD' Sungja Cho from an E-Mail, September 15, 2014 |
2014.09.15 14:26
2014.09.15 14:52
Thanks for the cute story!
Good thing I did not scroll down to see orange letter at bottom part first.
This person has started using make up(colour TV) and had plastic surgery as well(HD),ha,ha. KJ
2014.09.16 07:21
The time before the stranger appeared was the good old days with clean air, clear water, and so on.
The stranger brought all kinds of goblins with him, like the opening of Pandora's box.
We are living in a much more convenient and even enchanting world, but with a lot of more confusion.
This is the fate of the human kind nowadays.
Even so, we still yearn the good old days.
Kwan Ho
2014.09.16 15:10
And we all lived happily together thereafter.
가 아니라
We all became his slaves!
2014.09.18 00:06
조승자 선생님
저의 '선친의 옛 발자취를 찾어서' 에 Comment하여 주셔서 대단히 감사합니다.
곧 회신을 하려고 하였으나, 입력이 안되어 결국 운영자님으로부터 배워서 이제야 글을 올립니다.
저는 아버님의 힘드셨던 유학이야기, 또 겨우 한 장 남은 사진을 갖고 아버님 학교를 찾은 이야기,
그리고 그 때 사진에 나왔던 건물 입구가 현재 도서관 입구로 변경되었지만, 의구하게 보존 되었던 이야기,
그리고 저의 아들과 손자에게까지 보일 수 있음을 여기에 올려 동창제위와 공유하고 싶었습니다.
금년 겨울까지 좀 더 추가하여 올릴 예정입니다.
거듭 감사합니다.
I edited a few lines without changing the main content.