What a Wonderful World

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We just sat in silence as I drove aimlessly around the neighbourhood. There really wasn't anything to say, and no place we really needed to be. I just felt like escaping a while; the house; the heat. It was also the one of those days when I felt like I needed time out to gather my thoughts once more.

I smile as I looked at my mother humming along to Louis Armstrong singing What A Wonderful World. I sang along......

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

"I don't know what's wrong with your second son. Even old people don't listen to oldies, and here I am singing it word for word." I said to her and she laughed.

There's something almost therapeutic about driving. I loved the fact that the roads were so empty. I could cruise from place to place so effortlessly where there would normally be 20 other cars waiting in line. It was bloody hot Chinese New Year again.. as it always is every year. Well, the sky was blue and the sun was shining... I guess that's always a good thing.


I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

A hundred and one random thoughts occupied my mind. Most of them, totally unrelated to another. It was the year of the tiger, so how come everyone's pigging out on snacks? IS there an explanation why CNY is so bloody hot? Am I really so picky when it comes to friends? Can you believe how hard it really is to find yourself someone you can genuinely care about and know for a fact that they care for you in the same way too? How come no one else knows that song The Rainbow Connection? How come no one my age listens to Bossa Nova music? Could I really settle in a place like Melbourne? Who are my real friends? How many friends do I really need? Are barriers a sign that you need to go the extra mile, or is it a sign that things just aren't meant to be?

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They're really saying I love you.

Why is it so hard to say "I love you"? Why are people so guarded when it comes to love? If Valentines day was all about love, how come only couples celebrate it? Why must we always narrow love down to the romantic kind? Can't people who aren't lovers love each other too in it's purest sense? Isn't it possible to love someone with all your heart without being IN love with that person? Isn't it beautiful how the song sings about friends shaking hands saying how do you do... only to really mean "I Love You"? Has that sort of love gone extinct? Why have we reserved love only for lovers and not our friends? Why has society diminished love from a universal force that binds us all together to something exclusive shared with some but not with others?

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world. 

We passed by an old office where my father used to work. I remembered coming here as a kid. "Don't you think time flies ma? Yesterday, we were just kids needing to be taken care of. You were the ones working. Now, it's us working. Who knows, years from now, I'll be bringing kids of my own out here, recalling how I was here with their grandmother today." I said out loud with a wink. My mother smiled. It's amazing how things change. They happen bit by bit so that you never notice. But one day, you wake up and realize that so much has changed right under your nose. You ask yourself where did all the years go? You could have sworn it felt just like yesterday that you yourself turned 18.

It made me cherish things a bit more. Some things, some people stood the test of time. They remain with you for a long time... and you learn to hold on lovingly but firmly to these things and these people. They give you your footing. They provide comfort and strength that as constant as change is, some things remain by your side. Not everything was as fleeting as the sunset. But some things ARE fleeting. Some people aren't meant to be be there all the time. Many things in life we wished we had more of. Many things in life we wished didn't have to end, and yet they do. But we cannot begrudge what cannot remain. We learn to hold gently. We learn to savour the beauty of the moment. Then, we learn.... to let go. The part we struggle with most of the time is telling one from the other.

"What do you want to do now ma?" I finally asked... having explored every unknown route there was around that neighbourhood... and feeling like I had quite enough of 'thought gathering'

"How about a root beer.... with ice cream. That's be nice" she replied. She always wanted root beer, I didn't exactly know why. But come to think of it, we did spent a good many years of my childhood in that particular A&W outlet. It was my favourite place in the whole world on Sundays, mainly because the big bear mascot would come give us kids a hug. Going back to that place as an adult these days reminds me how it isn't always the things around us that are constantly changing. Sometimes, its us.

I smiled again. "Yes.. that would be nice ma."