Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Unconditional

I get into the cab, and tell the elderly driver where I want to go. A little boy, about 7, is in the front passenger seat - without his seatbelt on - leaning forward with his hands perched on the dashboard. He does not turn around; he does not acknowledge my presence.

They are speaking in Mandarin, and are talking about the Chinese zodiac. The boy asks if there is a cat in the zodiac, and the man says no, the playfully sugests that he could go be a cat.
The boy snaps at the man, telling him to "go and die".
In the backseat, I raise an eyebrow.
The man simply chuckles and very mildly, says, "You dare to scold me? I'll beat you!"
"If you hit me, I'll hit you back. If you hit me a hundred times, I'll hit you back a hundred times," comes the childish retort.
By this time, I am slack-jawed and utterly incredulous, and I don't know if it is at the audacity of this little bugger, or the admirable patience of the old man.

We are approaching a red light, and with a weathered hand he points to MacRitchie Reservoir, "See? That's where we get our water from. Stand up so you can see it."
Driving further down, he gestures toward the dense foliage and the little trails that surface by the side of the road. In the same gentle tone, he tells the boy he'll take him there one day if he'd like.

Finally we reached my destination, and I thank the cabbie as he hands me my change. The boy turns to look at me, and I step out hoping that he'll learn to appreciate his grandfather before it's too late.

Posted by stash at 11:55 PM