They came and they went with plastic bags full of red succulent desserts. Rambutans.
Just a few days ago, a gutter cleaner's suspicious behaviour outside my house drew the ire of my dogs. Apparently, he was attempting to pick the fruits from the tree whose branches and fruits had grown over the fence. I asked him to leave politely and he only did so after awhile.
Then came the surprise visit by my relatives from my grand-aunt's side. This happened last Saturday. Though they were my seniors, my uncles and aunties, we chatted and joked about everything from global warming, the private lives of media artistes to politics and the state of education today (well, of course!) The session ended with harvesting the rambutans off the tree in the front garden that had been in existence since I was a child - if my memory serves me right.
My direct uncle and aunty mentioned something I will never forget. Time and again, when the rambutans are in season, strangers will appear and troll on the fruits from the outskirts. They did nothing to stop them. Their main rationale - there are plenty to go around.
This reminded me of communal living in villages where people share the things they own with neighbours - the well, the fruits of the harvest and so on. What about the water hole where animals, both predators and prey, gather (at different timings of course) to drink. Nature provides and rewards everyone - not just those who had put in effort to maintain the rambutan tree. Even in biblical days, the poor were allowed to pick the remains of the harvest at the fringe of fields so that they will not go hungry. In fact, I believe that there is a law that permits them to do so.
I am truly humbled by this village experience. :)
Just a few days ago, a gutter cleaner's suspicious behaviour outside my house drew the ire of my dogs. Apparently, he was attempting to pick the fruits from the tree whose branches and fruits had grown over the fence. I asked him to leave politely and he only did so after awhile.
Then came the surprise visit by my relatives from my grand-aunt's side. This happened last Saturday. Though they were my seniors, my uncles and aunties, we chatted and joked about everything from global warming, the private lives of media artistes to politics and the state of education today (well, of course!) The session ended with harvesting the rambutans off the tree in the front garden that had been in existence since I was a child - if my memory serves me right.
My direct uncle and aunty mentioned something I will never forget. Time and again, when the rambutans are in season, strangers will appear and troll on the fruits from the outskirts. They did nothing to stop them. Their main rationale - there are plenty to go around.
This reminded me of communal living in villages where people share the things they own with neighbours - the well, the fruits of the harvest and so on. What about the water hole where animals, both predators and prey, gather (at different timings of course) to drink. Nature provides and rewards everyone - not just those who had put in effort to maintain the rambutan tree. Even in biblical days, the poor were allowed to pick the remains of the harvest at the fringe of fields so that they will not go hungry. In fact, I believe that there is a law that permits them to do so.
I am truly humbled by this village experience. :)
