[原创]My Childhood’s Paradise

谈客

My Childhood’s Paradise
                                                                                      
                                                                                    
Many years passed. A place always appeared in my dream, deep in my memory. It was my grandmother’s town. When I was six years old, sick and weak, my parents sent me to my grandmother in hope that she would take good care of me. The journey took a whole day; we went by railway in the morning and by steam boat in the afternoon. It was a very small town in southeast China. There were many stone bridges and flagstone roads leading to the houses sitting along the zigzag small rivers. My grandmother’s house was very big, two floors, with a huge yard where she raised chickens for eggs. To me, a city boy, it was really a big place. I ran up and down the stairs, chasing the fat cat who became my playmate soon after I had arrived there. In the sunny day, I played in the yard, feeding the chickens and picking up eggs from the small coops. Sometimes I climbed over the sunken fence to play with the neighbor’s boy. On rainy days, grandmother embraced me, sitting by the door to the yard, with chickens and the fat cat around us. Looking up at the grey raining sky, we sang a ballad:“It rains, it thunders, big God loses his temper, small kid becomes obedient, … … ”                        
                                                         
                                                         
Only three minutes’ walk from home, there was a big stone arch bridge built at least one hundred years ago. The stone slates and guardrails were smooth and glittering. On the top of the bridge you could look over half the town. Beside the bridge were a bazaar in one side and restaurants and tea houses in another side. Every morning people come here to buy and sell, to meet and talk. For the first time I saw so many fresh fruits, vegetables and animals. In afternoon this place was occupied by us kids, about two dozen boys and girls running at each other, laughing and shouting. Under the bridge were the stone steps to the water. Small fishes swam leisurely, up and down the step in the water. If you were quick enough, you could catch one small fish by hand. This was one of the games I did with the neighbor boy. The second year I learnt to swim like a fish in the small river. I followed the neighbor boy diving to the river bed to pick up some mussels, clams and river snails that were good dishes on our dinner table. Sometimes we pulled a boat and rowed away. When the owner scolded us on the bank, we jumped into the water and ran away, leaving the wood boat in the middle of river… …                                                           
                                                         

After two years, I had to leave the town for school. When I bade farewell to grandmother, we both cried. During my primary and secondary schools, I always spent my winter and summer vacations in my grandmother’s town. It was my paradise. Even after I had grown up and had gone far away, and my grandmother was already in heaven with God, the small town was still deep in my memory. The old house, the river, the bridge, and the people were already the integrated part of my life, forever.                                                     
                                                                                      
                                                         谈客2009年2月12日

mahu

Any sequel to this one?

I am waiting for your 《Manhood's Paradise》~~      

谈客

Neither a city nor a countryside town is ideal for a man who has a fifty years' period of manhood. A countryside town is a paradise for both a child and an old man. But to an adult man, where is his garden? I do not know for now.  Do you know?   
                                                                                    
Thanks for your appreciating this article.  :p  :p  :p

mahu

Neither a city nor a countryside town is ideal for a man who has a fifty years' period of manhood. A countryside town is a paradise for both a child and an old man. But to an adult man, where is his garden? I do not know for now.  Do you know?   
                                                                                    
Thanks for your appreciating this article.  :p  :p  :p


To be honest with you, I don't know where a paradise for an adult man should be.  But still, I guess, it should be a place where triumphs could be achieved.   :p

Thus, battlefield, stock market, even realm of love, in peacetime, somehow, tend to be a paradise for an adult man who is eager to succeed.  :smile:

谈客

Battlefields in MiddleEast are nightmares to most soldiers.         
Battlefields in civilized society, such as stock market, working place, football arena maybe the paradise for man,  and the realm of love is definitely the paradise for man, :p  :p , also for woman? :confused:  :confused:

mahu

and the realm of love is definitely the paradise for man, :p  :p , also for woman? :confused:  :confused:


For every body who is able to love...... :smile:

谈客

Totally agree