May
19 2015 Tuesday
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Flame of the forest
"That's the phoenix wood (鳳凰木). Say
it after me, phoenix wood. Good! You can recognize this tree by remembering the
red top with the small flowers and the tiny green leaves.” Pointing to a Flame
of the Forest growing by the roadside, the mother in her late twenties was eagerly
explaining to her young daughter who looked like still in kindergarten.
All the way along Ede Road, that is the
route of the mini-bus I was aboard with this mother and daughter pair, there
are several Flame of the Forest. I just
love this tree. When in full bloom, the broadly-spreading scarlet, lacy foliage
creates a gorgeous almost regal crown. And yet, when all the leaves are shed,
it can remain a bare trunk for months.
The mother and daughter attracted my
attention because this mother was taking her role most seriously. She made full
use of each opportunity to teach her daughter about general knowledge,
etiquette, road safety and more. The moment they walked up to join the queue behind
me for the mini-bus, the mother ordered the little girl to say “good morning”
to everyone! I was pleasantly surprised.
“Here is one good mother.” But I was
making my judgement too early!
That part about the Flame of the Forest
was repeated four times because there are three growing by the roadside and one
stretching out from a private estate. Then there was another incident of a man
dashing out from the pavement to cross the street when the light for pedestrian
crossing was flickering. Time for road safety lesson.
“You should never cross the road like
that! You know what will happen to him? Yes, hit by the car if not this time,
then will be the next time. ”
A few minutes later, the bus passed by a
street cleaner. The mother pointed to the man and said to the girl, “If you
don’t study well, you will be the one cleaning the street 15 years later. Do
you want to do that? No? Then you have to get 100 in all your dictations.
Undertstand?”
All along, the girl uttered responses not
very audible to me but definitely loud enough to her conscientious mother. By
the time we parted at the bus-stop, the girl had all my sympathy! It was
exhausting listening to this mother during a 10-miute bus ride! Well, the girl
has to listen to her for no less than 12 hours a day!
