Viewers versus players (a Senryū)
In front of the box,
screaming in frenzy, but you
are not the players!
This Senryu observes the frenzied enthusiasm displayed more so by viewers than the player themselves.
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Quotes:
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Remembering mum as a gentle and caring nurse
This is a touching piece by Prof. Khairulmaini Osman Salleh ( a former classmate of mine) about his mother, Aini Bte Ahmad, who was an assistant nurse (special grade).
A cherished moment with my late mother.
I remembered asking her about sowing beans. She explained that when beans are planted, several processes occur. First, the seeds absorb water and swell, beginning the process known as germination. As the seed coat breaks open, a small root, called a radicle, emerges, starting to grow downward into the soil to anchor the plant and absorb nutrients and water.
Simultaneously, a shoot emerges upward towards the light, eventually breaking through the soil surface. As the plant develops, it forms leaves that enable photosynthesis, allowing the plant to produce energy for further growth. This cycle continues as the plant matures, ultimately producing more beans, completing the growth cycle.
Mothers, they know things!
Note: Btw my late mum started off as a mid-wife aka bidan. She travelled all over Negri Sembilan to deliver babies, during those times i remember life was really hard irrespective who we were.
Ms Chen, i am sorry for your troubles, i just felt that my mum as a nurse she was always there for people irrespective of who they are, i only want to remember her as the gentle and caring nurse that she was.
Ms. Chen: Prof. Khairul, I am touched by the way you remember your mum!
Unconditionally yours
******* a Senyru poem**********
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reporting duty
chauffeured by father daily
to a food outlet
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a master degree
but any job is fine for
he needs therapy
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Papa sits waiting
sips coffee, reads newspaper
four hours the most
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Mother and daughter
she works alongside her girl
washing the dishes
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these two mum and dad
supported their adult child
first few weeks at work
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One with bipolar
and one with schizophrenia
parenting for life
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Seeing these two parents’ support for their adult children’s needs during their rehabilitation journey tells how unconditionally a parent’s love can be.
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One must not forget also the supported- employment opportunity created by kind employers and governmental policies on employment for people with different abilities.
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Big man, ‘small heart’!
So much hype about vaccination in recent days. This reminds me of an incident many years ago.
There was this big-sized policeman in an emergency department. He was involved in a minor motor vehicle accident. When the nurse was about to give him an injection on his arm, he jumped out of his bed.
“No, no, no! Not on my arm… maybe my buttock. But wait, wait first!” It took some time before he exposed his back.
“No, no, no! Wait first!” He pulled back his pants.
“OK, let me wipe the skin first. I won’t give you the injection until you are ready. I will wait for you to count up to ten… slowly. Alright, start counting. Open your mouth wide and count!”
“…nine, ten!” And the nurse was already clearing her tray.
He asked, “are you not going to give me the injection?”
“Given already!” The nurse smiled at him as she walked away.
His wife apologized, “sigh! Such a big man, but such a small heart!”
Hand in hand they walk (poem-a senyru)
“Careful, here’s a drain,”
his shaky hands reaching out
to guide her across.
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The well-dressed couple must be in their eighties. She wore a hat with a flower. A few Asian Chinese women would do that. They both walked in tiny steps, hand in hand. I watched from my balcony near the main road.
They came across a little drain, about six inches wide. It seemed a big hurdle. It took them five minutes to cross.
The tiny, fragile-looking lady waited passively. The gentleman was fidgeting and thinking of a way to get his lady across. He finally made a ‘big’ jump across the little drain.
It was a feat for his movements and gait looked like one with Parkinson’s disease. And his lady seemed mentally-subdued.
The caretaker of the hostel said their children studied and settled overseas. The old couple prefers twilight years in the warm weather here.
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A Morning Sonnet of “Hope”
by Prof. Khairulmaini Osman Salleh ( a former classmate of mine).
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* Why ridicule when we can show respect?
* Why fill our hearts with hate and not with love?
* Why belittle when support is more direct?
* Why seek revenge; forgiveness rises above.
* Why not extend a hand that offers aid?
* Why not be supportive and give advice?
* Why should constructive words go unsaid?
* Why not strive for growth and heed what’s wise?
* Why must we hide and shy from light’s embrace?
* Our choices shape the path that we pursue.
* All of us have the power to trace
* A life where kindness reigns and hearts stay true.
* I choose to live with happiness and grace,
* With humility and humbleness in place.
– khairulmaini –
A husband’ s definite yes is what she needed to hear
Nurses the Silent Hands
by Prof. Khairulmaini Osman Salleh ( a former classmate of mine. His mother was an Assistant Nurse- Special Grade)
* In halls of healing, nurses grace their trade,
* Modern Nightingales with hearts so pure,
* With gentle hands, my mother’s care conveyed,
* In soothing words and firm resolve, secure.
* A friend from distant shores, her calling found,
* In Port Dickson’s embrace, she learned to heal,
* Her presence, solace in the pain unbound,
* A testament to her unyielding zeal.
* As age advances and frailty draws near,
* Their steadfast care becomes our guiding light,
* A world without them, fraught with doubt and fear,
* Their steadfast spirits keep the dark from sight.
* Let us extol their tireless, noble art,
* For nurses hold a special place in every heart.
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Parkinson’s disease: Three steps forwards and two steps back
When I was a student, I met a male nurse walking a patient with Parkinson’s disease to the toilet.
“He is taking ages at the rate he is walking! It’s like taking three steps forward and two steps backward! I told him it would be faster for him to use a urinal on his bed!” Mr. Lee kept quiet at that remark. His mask-like face showed no expression. With a flexed body, he shuffled in a frustratingly slow, yet festinating gait. His thumb and forefinger rubbed in a pin-rolling tremor.
He never wet because he would request to go to the toilet earlier to avoid losing control of his bladder.
A senior walking pass, “Mr. Lee, I see you are walking and exercising. Very good, keep it up!”
Later the senior called a few of us aside, “be careful what you say! For a headmaster, to lose control over his movements can be a depressing condition. He may keep quiet, but he is sharp. He understood what you said! We need to treat patients with dignity and respect!”
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Not long ago, I met a male retired banker in a pottery class with me.
“I have Parkinson’s disease. That’s why I am here!” He was trying to slow down the progression of motor disability. And he was very creative and tidy in his pottery work!
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Research and management of people with Parkinson’s disease have improved a lot since.
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Fire drill… in darkness
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It was a fire on a second floor ward. Most of the patients were either comatose or bedridden.
As figures emerged from the smoky darkness in the stairs, I watched the frightened, tearful, and dishevelled soot-in-hair and uniformed nurses and staff carrying each patient on a stretcher or tied to the arms of a chair.
It struck me that fire drills had never, never ever been done in total darkness! The drills were always carried out in brightly lit departments.
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“… According to the travel expert, it is essential to “always count the number of doors to the exit stairwell”, Cici said on a recent TikTok video.
This is in case there is a fire and “it is too dark or smoky” for hotel guests to see where the exits are.”…
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Have you ever participated in a fire drill with all the lights out?…in total darkness?
… something to think about!
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Chen Song Ping 