The saxophone man...

I was having dinner last night at the New Zealand Restaurant along Gurney Drive.  It  was drizzling a little and suddenly, someone was blowing the sax in front of the restaurant.  I turned my head and I saw a big size foreigner, a white blowing a sax tune.  I could not know the tune he was blowing and all of us at the restaurant was taken aback.  My BIL Ed said that it maybe the weak economy in the US that is why the foreigners are touring the world with a sax. There was an old movie series with the title " With gun will travel " and this case is "with sax will travel". I went up to him and gave some some cash for his effort.  After the finishing the 1st tune, he played an old  Chinese song . I could recognize the tune but I have forgotten the title. He played another two songs and after that, he went around the table with his hat to gather more donations.

I remembered in my young days, there is an old Chinese belief which remind us that there are two profession that cannot earned any decent living ie music and art. So, when a person select music as their profession , their Parents will be up in arms against the idea.  Musician and Artist are doomed to be poor and will die of hunger. Many talented youngsters  at my time only treat it as a hobby. As the years progress, more and more schools are offering professional music courses and designer art at diploma or a degree level.  Nowadays, youngsters are taking up music as hobby and this create a market for professional music teachers. Things and perceptions have been changing at rapid speed. I read in the newspaper that a young musician from Malaysia was awarded in the  US for Music Achievement and this is the first time, a Malaysian was given this honor.

I sat besides my BIL, E and I asked him whether he remembered in our younger days, there is a very famous street singer by the name of Tan Tong Tong. This person used to prowl the streets of Penang with his Chinese Er Hu, a single string music instrument. On the top of his Er Hu is a bundle of fortune sticks. Before he let you pick a stick, he will mix it first and then he will roll the sticks and ask you to pick one of the sticks and you will allow to  pose one question to him.  He will look  at the stick and explain to you about your future based on the message on the stick.  After that, he will sing out the message as he play his Er Hu. You only have to give him a cent for the singing and he will be on his way.  Later, he became so famous that he sang in the Radio Malaysia Channel. He had passed away for many years now.

There is a saying " History repeat itself".  There are many old ways which have  became the new trend. Old is new and there is no need to re-invent the wheel. New life takes off when it ends in another form. By watching the saxophone man, it was like yesteryear seeing Tan Tong Tong wondering along the streets every night to entertain the old folks and the children. The shadow of his life still lives on in the mind of the older folks which was young once.

The past is gone and we can only cherish the memories and what is happening today will be going to be the past and with be someone else memories.  Enjoy the process of change when old become new and new became old and everything is in a circle depending on whose dream and fantacies.

Namaste.