a dying breed: the roti man

Earlier today, around 745+-, on the way back after visiting mak’s grave, saw a dying breed sort of: the roti man. I saw him at the traffic light some where in shah alam. It brought back memories of yesteryears, living at rumah kedai university garden, in the early 70s. well, other than the roti man, we, the children always looked forward to visits from the barber, abang malek (whom I worked for during weekends sometimes selling goreng pisang) who came on his bicycle, carrying a stool for the children to sit while having their hair cut. The coffee peddlar, who appeared once a month, bringing with him fresh coffee beans, and frying and grinding them beans, the aroma lingers till today hahaa The Chinese nyonya selling vege n fish, using the 'dacing' or double-pan balance scale, to weigh the groceries. Not forgetting the cendol man. The sweetness of the cendol was totally awesome, and I always insisted on less cendol so that I could get more shaved ice n brown sugar : ) and not forgetting the ice cream seller too, knnnnn Back to the roti man. He was carrying an awfully lots of load, which can be very dangerous, but I guess that’s the thing about him. The display of assorted bread and buns and tidbits surrounding him, hanging, is quite a scene. With his metal box at the back full of bread, he is truly one of a kind.

a sight to behold..

Amin Tailor

 

zaman muda2

 Hj Amin @ Amin Tailor, member gua nyembang2 sekali sekala, meninggal dunia  pagi tadi. Baru hari khamis pergi jumpa dia, hanto baju kurta yang rentas di dada untuk repair.

 Masa jumpa dia hari tu, dia khabo dia demam. Tapi bila gua salam dengan dia, idak le panas terasa.

“Hj demam ke? Meh try salam dulu.”

“eh, idak panaih pun.. demam urat kot gamaknya”

“Ye la kot cikgu”

“badan haji rasa sakit2 ke? Sendi seme berasa sengal2 ke? Makan tak lalu, kan.”

“Ya, betui tu cikgu”

“Saya dh pegi klinik dh hari tu, tu ubat dia. Kena rm100”

“Tu bukan ubat demam la haji”

“Pastu?”

“Itu ubat tahan sakit je. Nama pun painkiller. Kalau doctor cakap tu ubat demam, doctor tu membohong je”

“oh iya ka cikgu, betui jugak, noo”

“Hahahaa betui la, apa yang tak betui nya”

“La ni haji rehat, minum air kosong lebih, mulut pahit tu makan buah je la”

“nanti kalau esuk saya larat, saya jahit baju cikgu, ya”

“takpe haji, dh sihat esuk2 haji jahit la kt rentas tu. Haji tampal kain hitam kt bahagian rentas tu, pastu haji jahit la bunga bentuk arrow ka, bagi meriah sikit orang tenguk hahaa”

“ya, ya cikgu”

Okey la haji, nanti siap haji whatsapp la saya. Terimakasih hj amin!”

“ya, ya, sama2 cikgu.”

Itulah perbualan terakhir gua dengan hj amin, khamis petang yang lepas. Pagi tu hj amin ada msg gua, dgn ucapan salam maal hijrah. Layan.. gu pun reply la balik, knnn

Masa gua dapat berita dia meninggal tu, gua otw nk nganto arief balik asrama kt gopeng. Masa tu gua baru nk sampai sg galah. Adoyai. Petang pas asar nk kebumi deme khabo. Masa tu jam 3.15. selesai nganto arief, gua pun pederas la odisi. Ngam2 pkl lima sampai rmh. Gua pun solat n terus cargas pegi kubur pasir pandak. Bila sampai je kt situ, org ramai tengah kerumun kt tgh2 kubur kt bawah khemah. Gua parking motor n terus lari2 kecil. Sesampai je gua kt situ, ngam2 ada kaum buka kapan bahagian muka bagi peluang last tengok hj amin. Kiranya rezeki gua la, beb. Alhamdulillah dapat la menatap hj amin untuk kali yg terakhir.

Hj amin ni lembut orangnya, dan memang keje sebagai tukang jahit je dari zaman dia belajo kt itm jalan Othman tahun 70an dulu. Dia pernah la keje kt Jeddah zaman bujang dulu selama lapan tahun. kumpul duit, dia khabo hahaa. sempat la buat haji tiga kali, n umrah tak tau la banyak mana.

Gua seronok kawan dengan dia sebab dia lembut, cakap lemah lembut, suka senyum dan tergelak, dan bila gua lepak dengan dia, mesti time dia tgh jahit la biasanya sambil dengo radio klasik. Layan.. oh, lagi satu sebab ialah dia dok sorang. Dia pernah kawin, anak enam orang pun, tapi la ni dh cerai, lama dah, bekas isteri dok dengan anak2 berdekatan situ jugak. Hari2 anak2 dia akan datang jenguk dia kt rumah papan dia kt tepi tong sampah beso kt batu lapan tuu

 Hj amin ni asai orang sg petani, tp sebab bekas isteri dia org sg tiram lekio, tu yg dia pun dok sini sudahnya n habis rezeki kt sini jugak lah akhirnya pada umur 63 tahun.

Sebab dia meninggal? Musabab nya adalah asal demam tu, pastu hari sabtu dia pengsan, elok sat, ahad lembik seme tubuh badan, hanto hospital masuk ccu. Petang semalam meriah macam biasa je, kata anak dia. Pagi tadi siap cal anak dia bgtau “abah nk makan biskut. Bawak mai, tau”. Tau2 je pkl 10setengah+- pagi tadi dah sampai janji dia. Peh! Mudah je zahirnya, knn

Berakhirlah riwayat hj amin, sahabat gua for the last ten years or so. Semuga Allah memberkati n mengasihani sahabat gua ini. Gua akan merindui saat2 gembira bersama dia pastinya. For now, let me drown in my sorrow for a bit.

 

kubur hj amin

Love:

Love:

It comes when it comes

Just like that

another love: reading!!

Reading is something I really enjoy. I always read every now and then when I’m not so tight with my schedule. Though sometimes I will make the effort in the midst of my busyness to indulge myself in reading, since I find it relaxing, sort of an escapism lah. And I am very sure that it helps me improve on my language, more so that I am a language teacher.

 At the moment I am reading the next person you meet in heaven, by Mitch Albom. Should have finished it two days ago by right, but I put off reading it since I have other matters to attend to. Another 30 pages +- to go je.. Lagi pun, if I finish that novel, I don’t have any new novels to look forward to. so, man man la..

I read revival, continued with the da vinci code, and right now, as stated earlier, the next person you meet in heaven. All three books are different in nature: a suspense, a thriller, and an emotional life story. Nevertheless, I do enjoy all three. Stephen King always deals with haunting sort of story, and this revival is more or less leans towards that idea. Dan Brown’s da vinci code, just like all his previous novels, is breathtaking. And Mitch Albom touches the soul like no one else. His stories always relate to our emotions, something beyond the ordinary stuff. The way he sees things, and tells them, is simply enlightening. his language is simple yet so profound. Oh, I have all his books btw. All eight novels. Just to let you know how much I love his writings. The same goes for Dan Brown too.

Anyway, that is it for now. Got to go. Till next time, be good, yeah!!

first love

 

First love often remains in the heart,

Like plant that cannot grow in sunlight..

God's way