the transformers

i watched the transformers on tv yesterday in full for the first time, and it was simply heartbreaking yet touching at the same time..they told the story of a 75 year-old man, who is still slogging his life away as a karang guni to support his family of 3 kids and a wife, all of whom do not work at all..notably, his kids have all grown up, but they are not just not independent to support even themselves, much less their parents, who should be enjoying their old age by now..his youngest two daughters jumped to their deaths, which could possibly be the reason why the other children are not mentally stable today, having been traumatized by the tragedies in their family. when the hosts visited his apartment, there was hardly any space to walk at all! it was filled, almost to the ceiling, with decades of items, junks, and other stuff he repaired, collected through his work as a karang guni..

yet, despite all the sadness that loomed over the family (he even prepared casket photos of both his wife & himself already), he could still face life with such optimism and willpower..i really admire his strength..it was heartwrenching to see an old man like him shed tears as he related his life story to the hosts..it was touching to see his home, which originally looked like a junkyard simply unsuitable for inhabitance, transformed into one which now boasted of beds, a luxury almost all of us take for granted..it lifted my heart to see him smiling from ear to ear, after finally being able to see 'walls' in his house, and having his items converted into cash...

the show reached out to me constantly, and i'm sure other viewers as well, to really cherish what we have..the old man said that they occasionally would chi hao de, which was to packet food with a few dishes costing $2..and they didn't cook because gas is expensive..what a difference it would make if the richer people of this society would just share a tiny bit of their wealth with the less well-to-do..

hmm..and i realised when some things are gone, they are gone forever..no matter how hard i try, it is not for me, a single person, to change anything..and perhaps this is just how it's meant to be..living in separate worlds, with occasional overlaps in our lives..