SECRET HEROES

SECRET HEROES

for almost as long as i can remember, i have loved language. that a bunch of sounds strung together with pauses in the right places can be heard and understood as a series of ideas is astounding. what’s more, that a different bunch of sounds with pauses in different places can be totally intelligible to one group of people while remaining absolutely meaningless to another group of people.

this morning, i went to visit an elderly man i’ve known for a long time. we’ve always spoken in cantonese but that was never his strong dialect. so in the past, we never really spoke at all. but today was different. today, he could happily prattle off a list of places and things to see and tell me all sorts of wonderful stories, simply because i now understand his dialect.

what’s more, after the visit, i asked my mom more about him and i learned that he has a most fascinating life story. this aged gentleman who now has wisps of hair and a wrinkled old face is actually a descendant of royalty. in his youth, he learned ballet with the world masters, (for those who know the ballet world, he actually met Margot Fonteyn!). he was friends with the leading artists of his age. when his homeland’s political scene changed, however, he was forced into hiding. and i learned that the name i know him by is not even his real name.

and so, it turns out that this friendly, dear little man who calls me his “granddaughter” and never fails to let me leave his house empty handed, is actually a decendent of a king – with talent and a richer life story than i’ll ever begin to appreciate.

makes me wonder, how many of the King’s sons and daughters do i rub shoulders with and fail to recognize their worth?

i’m so glad God never has this problem!