The reunion

Recenty I went to KL to attend a classmate's lunch invitation, one of my secondary schoolmates who still remembers me. It was held at his house and there I met a few other classmates, most of whom I have not seen for more than 30 years. Although we look different now, some fatter, some thinner, some with more hair, some with less, there were still enough features to make us instantly recognizable to one another. There was a lot of back slappings and the "Oh my gosh what happened to you?!"

I was really happy to see my old friends. Really enjoyed myself. The food was excellent. I haven't had this sort of food for so long I had almost forgotten the delicious smell. I can't remember how many times I tambah nasi but it must have been 3 or 4.

There's the exchange of stories. How's life been? How many kids? What do you do now?

And my god, never would I have imagined how far they've gone. Of the dozen who came, 4 were directors or CEOs. Two were successful entrepreneurs. Two were retired, having made enough money. A few occupied senior positions in government or private companies. Two were Datuks. They all arrived in top of the line cars, shiny vans and four wheel drives. The cheapest car parked there was a Perdana.

I must have set myself apart by saying as little as I could because truthfully, there's not much to tell. I had prepared my lines. I am self employed, in the agricultural line somewhere on the way to Kuala Selangor (agriculture is the next big thing you know... with the world food shortage and all). I have a small family, not blessed with children so far, I don't travel much, and life has been good. And oh, I came by taxi because someone's using my transport.

The truth is, I'm just a small farmer. I have 2 aged parents as family, I can't travel far because a bicycle can only take me so far, and my father uses my bicycle when I'm not using it. And I came by bus but the bus didn't go all the way into the housing estate, so I took a taxi the rest of the way. I hope I wasn't deceiving by telling them what I said.

One of my old classmates was kind enough to give me a ride back to town after the event. A beautiful shiny car with a tv inside.

It was a happy day for me. In the bus on the way home, I recalled the crazy moments we had in school. I put myself in their shoes for a while and thought how different life would have been for me if I had made some choices years ago. Would I also have been a director? Or someone important? Maybe. Probably.

But we all have different callings. My friends made the choice and took the left turn on the road while I took the right turn. Their road led them (hopefully) to a balanced happiness, with money, family, and an honourable challenge to conquer in their profession. I took the other road that said less is more. Wealth wise, their servants probably have more money than I do but I tell myself whatever road we take, the destination is the same. Same as in we all end up in the same place after we die. What's truly valuable then is not so much what we accumulated but what we've learnt out of life.

Then again, I could be completely wrong. No one who died has come back to tell their story have they.