Monday, February 02, 2004

...... It rain this morning, it really pour, I love the rain, it smell fresh when it rain.... Sometime it remind me of my past, in my youth, when I was growing up in a village in Kuantan, we live in a typical Malay house... it is a wooden house raised up about four feet above ground and have thatch roof made of the palm leaves woven together to make it waterproof... when newly laid it is dark green in color and it would eventually turn brown... In the tropic it is a very ideal material for making roof.... it keep the house cool all throughout the years... as there was no electricity then... there was no such thing as fan to cool the interior of the house.... these thatch roof just did that... and surprisingly it last for quite sometime and when it leak, one has only to patch it up with other leaves and it would be as good as new.... When the rain pours we could hear the noise made by the rain drops on the thatch roof... and the water that fall down would be a little bid brownish in color... the color of the palm leaves.... Nostalgic of the good time I guess... I could still visualized the roof which are no longer seen nowadays and sometime could even imagine the smell of those wet leaves.... It is indeed a great memories of my past... When the rain pour.... We would strip and only with our pant, would play in the rain for hours.... until our hands became numb and our little fingers began to shrink because of the cold or...... Of course when our mother would shout for us to stop playing in the rain... It was indeed fun to play in the rain.... We would stop when we are really satisfied, shivering with the cold we would ran to the well nearby to take a bath from the cool fresh water drawn from the bottom of the well... It is indeed refreshing.... But now all these are gone forever.. No more well water.... No more playing in the rain for those kids... For now even the rain drops are polluted and most parent do not allowed their children to play in the rain.... Oh what they missed!!!! ....... Sometime when it rain.... I would carry our grandchild to touch the rain drop and would tell them stories of my past..... That we would bathe in the rain..... Grandpa could we play in the rain???? They would ask.... But then their parent would not want to allowed their children to do just that..... Well parent now are too protective with their children...... Anyhow I guess when they are big enough they would surely find a way to play in the rain..... It is in their genes..... They would drench their school uniform in the rain just for the fun of it all..... They are kids after all and like any other kids they would surely venture into the unknown and try to break the rules...... Sometimes... The rain would be there as always and surely there would time when they would have fun in the rain.... Like their grandparent do..... One of the best thing being in the tropic is that there are always rain, even sometime when it sunshine... but then in our culture....we do not allowed our children to play in the rain when it rain during sunshine. 'Hujan Panas' [Hujan = rain and Panas = Hot] we call it and in those days old folks would say that there are death by killing and blood spilled if it rain during sunshine... The 'Hujan Panas', perhaps it is true, for in those day seldom one hear of people die because of being kill and blood spilled.... Death in those day are usually at old age....... I am not sure whether all this are true.... but then to me who have been brought up in the old ways.... This believe does not go away easily... I guess it is in the gene..... and now if it rain during sunshine I would not allow our grandchildren to play in the rain.... Superstitious you say..... May be..... Well... I guess in any culture we thence to believe in the unknown... like touch wood..... the black cat... the number thirteen.... etc.... This is the twenty first century and some of us till believe in all those things.... That's us human....What can we say....After all we are a spiritual being......... Today it just rain and no sunshine at all..... so it is alright to play in the rain.... and enjoy.........

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