My afternoon BOM class at Malim had happened to be cancelled Tuesday. So I was planning to spend a few hours at Calvary Care Home before attending my night MLM class. Even though Kit's request would not disturb my programme at all, I did not confirm with him what time exactly I would be at his place. That evening, however, I told myself that if I wanted to lead a sincere externally focused life, I should change my attitude to help people not only when it was convenient for me.
When I arrived at his place the next day afternoon, his room door was locked. While wondering why he was not yet back from the centre where he received his physiotherapy during weekdays, I read my MLM notes. About an hour later, someone sent him back. Actually Kit had also waited for me there from 4pm onwards. I was the one who had not listened to him carefully and so had misunderstood where I was supposed to pick him.
Nevertheless, Kit was happy to see me. He slowly lifted his body from the wheelchair, sat onto the front passenger's seat in my car and directed me to the barber's. He told me that the man who used to transport him had resigned from his voluntary work two months ago. Since, his hair had not been cut.
The shop was at the roadside nearby. At first he asked me to stop right in front of it. As it was too near the junction, I preferred to park further. When he got out from my car, Kit suddenly realised that he had forgot to bring along his walking stick, without which it was very hard for him to drag inch by inch to his usual sitting place.
Seeing Kit's slow and tedious move, the barber who was going to close his shop soon decided to place a chair next to my car, pull the extension wire from the window
and start shaving Kit's head there and then!
It must be the first open-air experience to both the boss and the client. I was amused by the scene very much.
The barber looked stern in the beginning. As I walked around to take pictures, he smilingly introduced his shop which had been existing for forty-five years.
"You can't find this kind of barbershop elsewhere in Melaka."
"Has any newspaper ever reported on your shop?"
"Yes, Malay papers."
"Then I'll be the first to write about it in English."
He proudly showed me a family picture of the former Indonesian president Sukarno above a mirror and another black and white portrait of himself.
When I stared at his younger handsome face inside the frame, I thought of one of Dad's old photographs with the similar hairstyle and contemplative look.
"Have you been to Medan?"
"No, I haven't visited Indonesia yet but I'd like to go there one day."
"I was born and stayed in Medan until the age of eighteen..." Now I understood why he had an attachment to our neighbouring country.
Kit's hair was trimmed neatly within minutes. When I took out my wallet to pay for Kit, Uncle Maze said to me in Hokkien, "You're very kind hearted, that's good!"
I was amazed at this 74-year-old Malay elderly's fluency in the Chinese dialect. I had no intention of digging up his past stories. However, he was not reluctant to tell me more about his family background. He actually had grown up with Chinese Indonesian relatives from his mother's side.
If I were a man, I would have liked to be the next client to be attended to in this antique barbershop by Uncle Maze who was two years Kit's senior.
I thanked God for this interesting encounter. When I looked at Kit's satisfied face and fresh look, I was also glad to be his driver for this short trip. The joy I felt in return was worth much more than the half an hour and the RM5 I had spent. May God continue to use me as a blessing to whoever in need.
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