Visit to Mr Lau's

Today was supposed to be the day I crammed all my errands into one day. Zapped notes for myself and my classmates so we got stuff to study for exams, bought food for Mr Jai but had to run off fast, and then, the highlight of the day...a visit to Mr Lau's.

Mr Lau is 90 years old this year. And he doesn't look like it at all (see picture, taken by R for me today.) Interviewing Mr Lau for a Streats article last year has been one of the rare moments of joy for me in my previous job. Yes, this is Mr Lau the intrepid globe-trekker who loves travelling to the most exotic places on earth. I decided to visit him this time (only my second visit since over a year back when I interviewed him) because he mailed me a little book he compiled of speeches he has made, and articles he has written.

It was such a pleasant surprise to receive the book. It is a compilation of speeches he has made at weddings and alumni dinners, as well as private writings with titles such as "The Role of Grandparents" and "Lessons Drawn from Different Cultures". How cool is that? He writes really well by the way. Don't know if I ever mentioned he had contributed travel articles to Her World magazine in the 1980s. As for this book he gave me, he had asked his son to type them out properly, and then he sent the writings to a printer to print and bind.

It was R, a former classmate, who introduced Mr Lau to me when I was looking for an interesting personality to interview for a travel supplement. R had been in the same tour group as Mr Lau during a rare trip to North Korea. And since then, they have kept in touch, much like a grandpa enjoying a nice chat with his grandson. So today, R visited Mr Lau together with me.

Mr Lau still drives by the way. A battered old car - 25 years old this year - that crawls at a snail's pace on the road. As he drove us to the mrt station today, I kept wondering what would happen if one day he, well, died at the wheel! Once again, talking to old people like him really make me so amazed at how they have come to terms with the end of life. R was saying that he would be posted to Shanghai in June. For four years.

And Mr Lau, said, as he drove: "Four years is a long time. I don't know if I can make it till then. But when you come back, and I'm still around, do remember to call me up."

And perhaps that was why I wanted to visit him today, as soon as possible. Because I didn't know when he would go.

Thank you for making my life that little bit more meaningful, Mr Lau. God bless you.