Week 2: Quality Time with the Old-Timers

Dr. Ma is 91 years old. He's lived on the first floor of the same three-bedroom flat for nearly 60 years. Despite missing several teeth, his taut yet wrinkled face show several features that made Dr. Ma a handsome man in his youth. A shock of white hair is partly combed neatly, partly in messy tufts due to an afternoon nap.

Throughout my last week in China, we visited numerous grandpas and grandmas now in their 80s and 90s. While my dad diagnosed and treated their various ailments and sicknesses, conversations inevitably took a stroll down memory lane, leading to numerous intriguing stories full of historical background.

Dr. Mo had perhaps the best memory clarity of them all. He told vivid stories of the devastating times of the Communist takeover in the late 1940s and the early 1950s. Disturbing persecution of certain folks with even the loosest ties to anti-Communist interests, forced inhabitation by peasants and workers, the cancelation of traditional schooling... he had gone through it all in the same city, in the same house. Most memorably, my dad and I were able to ask questions and hear a few stories about the grandfather I never knew, a friend and neighbor of Dr. Mo's. Through it all, he was able to stay surprisingly light-hearted, but the emotions he inspired were real, the images vivid.

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My own grandpa (on my mother's side) was the first person I visited in China. Bedridden with Parkinson's and dementia, he was able to recognize me after a few reminders. Unlike some of the other folks, conversation is usually sparse, but the emotions are in full force. As a child, we used to shoot hoops and fly paper airplanes together. A renowned surgeon in both Shanghai and Beijing during his career, I'm thankful for the chance to visit him now. While he has shown signs of improvement in recent days, it's unclear whether he will be able to move back home from the hospital. I will do my best take care of him and brighten his day a little bit every time I am able to visit, whether that be through food, a few bits of conversation, or simple physical touch.

The many stories told and moments shared were the true rare opportunities of my trip so far. Sure, the bullet train was impressively efficient and smooth. Hearing the familiar voices of Cheah Pet and Fooks and JLim + RShi come on shuffle brought a nice touch of home to a foreign land. My dad and I were treated to an awesome feet washing/massage. We had some delicious Xiao Long Bao in Shanghai amidst the crowded sea of people celebrating the May 1 Chinese holiday. But all of these wonders of technology and luxuries of modern day society will be more to come, possibly tenfold in the future. But there are only so many more times we can visit the older generation, carrying on their stories for future ones.