28-yr old nocturnal over@nal geekette Malaysian.
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Through her eyes
Most weekday afternoons in Sydney were spent getting Ciara home from pre-school. Most days, we'd take the bus home. Her mum told me Ciara loves bus rides. I'm sure it was an adventure for a four year old, just as new to the city as I was.
We'd sit at the bench on Norton St watching the cars and buses go by. Sometimes, she'd be licking on an ice-cream cone. Other times, she'd have a bag of lollies. And every time, while waiting, she'd curiously ask me questions.
Why are the cars stopping? Why do some go that way or that way? Is that our bus? Why aren't we taking that bus?
It was easy to grow tired from the incessant questions children have. But I always made answering her a creative challenge for me, not realising that sometimes the answers I give reflects how limited our thinking as an adult has become.
That isn't our bus. That bus takes us far away from home. It's going in the wrong direction.How wrong I am. Hopping on a random bus could be quite an adventure. Taking us to places we haven't yet been, to see things we haven't yet seen. Eventually of course, there will always be a bus that will take us home. It's just a matter of which route we decide to take.
And very often we look for the easiest route. The one that takes us directly to our destination. Will we be any wiser if we shortened our journey? Or would we be more enriched, with more stories to share, when we take a detour?
Comments
Funny thing is, reading that entry the first thing I thought was, anyone familiar with Sydney reading that would instantly know Norton St [even if they haven't been there].
Yet, the child might not be familiar with how famous Norton St is in Sydney until later in life.
Dabido (Teflon) | June 1, 2007 4:47 PM
funny thing is, i thought someone familiar with Sydney like you would know instantly that not everyone is from Sydney/Australia. including a four year old girl.
i also think you lost the plot completely. it's not abt norton st.
zona marie | June 1, 2007 8:34 PM
I think the plot is to catch that bus, train or tram to some unknown destination. For then you get the unplot, not knowing what's going to happen next.
Tunku Halim | June 2, 2007 6:53 PM
Zona - You've misunderstood what I was saying. I know the post wasn't about Norton St.
Also, I wasn't commenting on the fact that the child didn't know about Norton St.
I was just commenting that anyone from Sydney would instantly know where you're talking about.
[As opposed to if you mentioned somewhere else, like 'melrose Avenue', also in Sydney, but even people from Sydney wouldn't know where it was unless they happened to catch a bus from there].
I only mentioned the child not knowning how famous Norton St is in Sydney, as I think it'll give her good memories later in life. She'd be able to mention it to people and they'd know where she was.
Sort of the same way that I can remember King St in Penang. Anyone from Penang I mention King St to knows where I mean.
I was coming at it from a nostalgia point of view.
Dabido (Teflon) | June 3, 2007 12:22 AM