Beatles Magic Shared With A Gentle Soul: Eddie Eng

Good friend Eddie Eng reminds me of what Margaret Laurence says in her book, 'The Diviners' about memories and snapshots.

'I keep the snapshots not for what they show but for what is hidden in them... (Ch 1, Pg 14: McClelland & Stewart Inc; Pub.).' 

Very true. What is hidden are the memories as the snapshots trigger them.

Thank you, Eddie, for this anecdote:

"Old memories are like old photographs. They turn hazy and fade with time. However, some images still endure with poignancy. One such enduring image is Said Ali.

Said Ali was a small scrawny boy with jet black hair and a perpetual wide grin. Hidden in his bag was his prized possession: a tiny transistor radio that he brought to school to share with me.  

A boy with a transistor radio, a prized possession those days, as Eddie Eng explains. The boy was a gentle soul who shared and listened to it with Eddie. The image is for illustration only.

While the teacher would drone on monotonously, our ears were pricked to the bell to announce recess time. Ali would hurriedly fish out his transistor hearing he bell. We would huddle at a secluded corner and with ears peered close to one another, listen to the sound of the Beatles. The lyrics were simple and at times repetitive. 

Even to a secondary one schoolboy, they did not seem to make much sense. But the sound was magic. We did not hear anything like it before. It stirred the young soul within us. The morning pledge of, "regardless of race, language or religion" seemed irrelevant and unnecessary. The music transcended all that. We did not for a moment feel that we were different in any way.

But the school thought so, we parted ways due to streaming and that set us irrevocably on a different path to our life journey. I hope life has been kind to him. A gentle soul who had shared precious moments with me through music."

Written by Eddie Eng.
With a profile so high
It's best he just smiles.
Thanks, Eddie.

The Beatles below with 'My Guitar Gently Weeps', a lovely piece written by George Harrison in 1968. Within us, life should be about harmony; not otherwise. I think Eddie's little story tells it all. 

"I look at the world and I notice its turning
While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake, we must surely be learning
While my guitar gently weeps."

George Harrison.

Images: A Personal Collection and Google.