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| Photo by Philippe Oursel on Unsplash |
Dear Readers,
Thank you for coming here!
During the holiday period, I did get some time off.
Somehow, my wife decided to go all the way from the West of the Island to the East of the Island for horse riding.
So we spent about 80 dollars on the cab and 20 dollars for the horse riding.
Did not know we could actually purchase multiple tickets for multiple rounds. But it was nothing compared to what I did in Spain, where I rode the horse and climbed the hill. And the horse was way bigger as well.
The activity was not really aligned with my value systems. But we did have fun.
One of the things we saw in the park was chicken.
We saw people stop to take pictures of them, especially the males since their feather were more colorful. My wife took my two sons and followed them as well.
I just felt a bit “Surprised” as chicken would never be pets or rare for me.
I was born in a small village in China and spent considerable portion of my childhood there. Chicken were part of daily lives.
I used to feed chicken, collect eggs and even catch them and tie them so that the adult could kill them later for a nice meal or celebration.
I also protected them when the hens were sitting on their babies, waiting for them to crack.
I also witnessed my Grandma buying those small “yellow” chicks from merchants and bringing them back home to raise them up.
Grandma would make a very warm cage for them and put the cage in doors most of the time (Grandma did take them for some sunshine outside when the weather was good).
Growing up, those chicks would eat cakes made out of mixed grains, those that people would eat when there was not enough flour or rice.
Grandma would chew those cake and then past them on the wall of the cage for the small chicks to eat. I used to eat them as well.
Whenever I looked into the cage, the chicks would walk around and never stop making those “chick chick” sounds. If there were enough of them in one cage, the sound would drove me nuts a bit as they “song” together.
They were valuable assets for the average farmer families. The hens were the main source of eggs and meat for special occasions. The males were walking “Alarm Clock”.
Therefore, people took good care of them, including protection against their natural enemies, such as weasels, as well as fellow neighbors.
I have seem people marking their chicken with coloring or by cutting their features in a certain way (like hair style).
I could recall very clearly a particular incident involving chicken between the neighbors.
One family lost one of their chickens and the wife suspected their neighbor next door had stolen it (Chicken run around and some could even fly over the wall. They could simply fly over the wall and the neighbor just kept them).
And there was a huge quarrel, loud enough for the whole village to hear.
People gathered for the “show”, giving all sorts of comments without having any proof, which fueled the fight even more.
It was just shocking to me that people would throw away all their kindness and manners over a chicken.
But Chicken were valuable to the families.
Now it would not happen, not in Singapore and not even back in those villages in China.
People here treat them as pets and would give them good lives. And if they are lost, people would promise rewards for their return.
Most villagers in China now have more than enough eggs or meat. They have alarm clocks as well. Their pursue were redirected to big houses, nice cars and the numbers in their bank account long ago.
Different time and world now.
The same people would just behave differently.
At the beginning of 2022, I just would like to remind my readers and myself that we are living in the best time of human kind, even with all our “frustrations”, “bad luck”, “failures”, “depression”…
So enjoy, make the best out of it and if possible, make it better for our children and theirs.
Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me, and the entire human race
Till next time!
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