Never Too Old To Be Young

Never Too Old To Be Young

The first time I saw “Snow White” of Walt Disney some fifty years ago, I, then still a child, could hardly sleep as I and the seven dwarfs and all the inhabitants in the wood fell in love with her.

When some 30 years later the film was played again, I didn’t want to miss the chance for my children to see this film.

TV also showed the film on its 50^th Anniversary with short episodes, highlights of the original film. Yet, seeing but parts of it, I again was enchanted as when I was a child, but with deeper, richer understanding, although a married man, having grey hair and could already have grandchildren. “You’re Never Too Old To Be Young” said one of the songs. For days the song and all the other songs lingered in my mind. Grateful as I felt, realized how good life was for those who were always feeling young.

From Bisnis Indonesia,

March 21, 1990

April 2011

Better Know Or Not Know 3

Better Know Or Not Know 3

Better know, be conscious of good and evil as grown ups are.

Or not know, be unconscious of good and evil as all creatures and little children are.

April 2011

Miss Vain

Miss Vain

Pak Arif watched a little girl in a restaurant who enjoyed looking closely at her self in the mirror, tossed her hair backwards, turned her head this way, that way for a long time. “What a ‘Miss Vain’.” But then he whispered to me. “I myself am  just as vain as she is as I exert a lot, perhaps even more to  heighten my inner appearance no one could ever know. Ha, ha, ha.”

July 2008

April 2011

Khadafy

Khadafy

Some comments in Indonesia:

“How brave, Khadafy wouldn’t surrender to the pressure of the foreign powerful states, even of the NATO. He is like an ant that bravely, indignantly fights back the giant oppressor that invades his nest.  He is not as President Mubarack who - in fact – was forced to step down.”

“How unfair is the free zone flight rule, while Khadafy’s air forces are forbidden to fly over its own country, the strong coalition, NATO forces are allowed to fly, invade   Lybia and bomb, shoot it and justify themselves with the excuse of protecting the people from Khadafy’s  cruelties. While a non politition a lay man as I am would feel it as a no common sense, insane decision.”

“The United Nations? Wow that’s clique system, brotherhood, fraternity.To have the courage to stand alone, be different, not surrender to the will of the majority, the strong states. That’s what The United Nations should observe and be proud of.”

“But Khadafy is a scoundrell and has hired soldiers face, subdue, shoot the demonstrators and those of his own soldiers who didn’t obey to shoot the uprising be death-sentenced.”

“He has committed many crimes as they now say but why not take Khadafy before the international court at that time, why just now when there is an uprising? He certainly has his good works.”

”What a shame, the United Nations decided to force Khadafy to leave his country. Is that their business to decide this question instead of the people themselves? Imagine, what if our late president Suharto was banned, exiled by foreign intervention from Indonesia. How degrading. Rusia and China never would tolerate foreign intervention in their country, and no country, no United Nation dares."

“Suppose Khadafy falls because the foreign forces intervened, shoot, bomb his country, attack his loyalists and what if they leave him at the mercy of his enemies. That really is a cruel fate. His enemies would not  give him a fair trial but tear him to pieces as Sadam Husein, the fierce strong lion was. If Sadam weren’t captured, his country not invaded by the foreign forces, he might still be chosen by his people as president in Irak despite his many foes and enemies.”

“But Khadafy really is brave, He wouldn’t surrender to the terms, conditions for peace when he is forced to step down. He demands that he still be chief, leader, the man of Lybia. There’s no question about that and that is an honorable demand, claim.”

That’s what some people think.

I hope Khadafy will be that brave, strong.

April 2011

Our Eyes Can't See Them

Our Eyes Can’t See Them

Sure, you are lovely, but your mother is yet lovelier and your grandmother even more so. Don’t think the old are not very lovely, not very nice, not very clever, not very strong, have no courage, ... Only our eyes can’t see them.

So said opa Johan to his granddaughter.

April 2011

Musing On My Blogbook Making

Musing On My BlogBook Making

I’ve got a preview of my blogbook in the making. Imagine of what it can do:

order the articles according to date, oldest first or last, change the order to your wishes, it makes it’s own index according to the order of the posts. You could delete, erase posts overfluous or not wanted, except you can’t edit the posts.

I imagine new features in the future:

The possibility to change the size, font, colour of the letters, of the pages. You could than easily turn forward or backward or click a title you want to open. Besides, you are not limited and could have as many pages as you want, read it as a real book before you.

Then will I download my blog and edit and make me myself my e blogbook.

Moreover, you could do it yourself if you want to. You need not print, purchase one and you could have it whenever, wherever you are for free as I think of what Google, Yahoo, You Tube does for free. Except you want to make me rich.

A blogbook? Forget it. I’ll make me myself an e blogbook at that time. Oh, what a joy.

April 2011

Lovely Guppies

Lovely Guppies

When I was a child, we, my younger brother and I were going out for guppies. It was an adventure. With our hands cautiously in the water  we caught them one at a time. They were in a drain that was with clear water in front of our house in Laan Trivelli, (now Tanah Abang 2), put them in a tincan and kept them in our washbasin.

We couldn’t afford to have an aquarium but that was not less beautiful, with tiny pieces of coral, stones or a weed as waterplant. And it was because they were in a washbasin that you could see the beautiful colors of the male fish clearly and NB each one is differently colored. I would like to call them Paradise fish, yet almost no one notices, cares for them as they are so small.

You could see them graciously courting the bigger female fish. The leaders have their own territory. You could see them fight, that was so exciting, they turn dark. We could sit for hours watching them. And we gave them a name, the “White Butterfly”, its tail was as the wings of a butterfly, the “Champion” who almost always won, the “Knocked Down Uncounscious” who was so severely hurt in a fight that for a moment it was uncounscious, the “Speckled” as it has a beautiful colored spot in its backfin, ... They were unafraid and swim into your palm in the water.

I was surprised and happy to see, find them still survive in an open ditch, draining our foul wash water from the households There are still a lot guppies in this ditch but I can’t catch them with my camera.

Our ditch in front of our house and many other ditches are hundred percent covered. There is no fish anymore and as there arise many eateries, foodstalls, these open ditches become stagnant with foul dish-wash water no fish, water creatures could ever live.  In former times you could find them almost in any ditch, occasionally see a crab, or fish an eel. It’s a pity, sad that they one day become extinct.

April 2011