Wednesday Walk: cycling to check out some old villagers’ house.

I heard that some old friends in the other side of the village have been making lots of modifications to their house and large fish pond. Their nephews have been busy with the building project and they came to get bamboo poles from the bamboo grove. But my gardener told me that this project of a coffee shop has been stalled after a death in the family.

It seemed that the boys’ father was death after the third jab. He’s a teacher at a secondary school where the school director made the injections compulsory. The death was sudden and the doctor concluded that the patient had previously suffered from bad health. He was over weight with high blood pressure and diabetic. He died suddenly with heart failure. At least his family got a big sum of insurance money and other school compensation. Part of the money has been spent on the building project. So I was curious to see new changes they have made at the old house.

I went for a leisurely cycle ride to the other side of the village just to see the progress in this project. Luckily the sun was shining brightly though we expected rainfall sometime later. I stopped at the new bakery shop in the village, the lady was still baking in her kitchen so there was nothing on the shelves yet. So, I cycled to the old house nearby. I was surprised to see all the trees in the yard have grown so big during the past few years. It looked much greener and more homely with new wooden house and new sheds.

The old grandpa called uncle Toon was happy to see me as he used to look after my land for me in the past. He has become much older with skinny body but he could still work in his garden and go fishing in rainy season. He told me about this small coffee shop project which was started by his son-in-law. This coffee shop was supposed to help the young school leavers in their family to have some way of making a living and a purpose in life.

Seceral young teenagers had failed in their classes because they were persuaded to experiment with drugs such as ‘ya mar’ (speed pills), ‘ya barr’ (crazy pills) and other new pills smuggled over the border. Once they were made to be addicted to these pills, they could no longer function as proper students attending classes and going to exams. Within two years they would certainly be kicked out of schools or have to give up schools altogether. No amount of persuasion from parents would be useful as these drug addicts had no more common sense and responsibility of their own future. So, grown ups were concerned about their future.

Unfortunately the death of the father suddenly put a damp on the project as the main driving passion was gone. So, the leader of the coffee shop project was gone and all the building work has stopped though I could see lots of progress made around the fish pond. Uncle Toon told me that they paused the building work for a while. They were waiting for the eldest nephew who would graduate from his college later this year. He was very keen on managing a coffee shop and a restaurant. Then, the younger brother and sister could work at the coffee shop too.

I walked around taking photos of the large fish pond. Their younger nephews and some friends had built the wooden walkway around the fish pond and several small thatched roof shelters for customers to enjoy their drinks by the pond. I spotted three beautiful bird nests on the tall tree at the other end of the pond. Uncle Toon’s wife picked up a big bird nest which was blown off the coconut tree.

The new small wooden hut by the pond would be perfect for a coffee shop. The yard could accommodate upto ten cars at least. So, this place would make a very nice coffee shop by the pond in the near future. The grandparents and mother of these youngsters were anxious about the ones who failed at colleges so they didn’t have any diploma for applying for formal jobs. These youngsters wouldn’t be able to have a professional career as they didn’t have any practical skills. So, the elders hoped that a family business could help all the nephews to make a living.

But I was concerned that these young people hadn’t been disciplined to work hard and be accountable in a company setting. They had been living like introvert and independent happy go lucky people. So, I wonder if they would be able to tolerate and handle a difficult customer and a strict boss. In a way, the need to make a coffee shop a success and bringing in sufficient income could help these self-indulgent younsters to become more emotionally matured and more responsible for their own livelihoods. So, I would love to see the new coffees shop opened and become very popular among local villagers and visitors soon.

Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.

Stay strong and cheerful.

#wednesdaywalk hosted by @tattoodjay