Fried rice and camaron rebosado. These are just two of my favorite food. But talking about them is just incidental. There is a deeper purpose why I mentioned them.
Today happened to be one of those soul gratifying days for me.
I was at Rockwell practically the whole day. I was overseeing the repair of my best friend's condo at Joya. When lunchtime came I asked the man who was doing the repair where he would take his lunch. He said he brought along his baon. So I went to the nearby Power Plant Mall to take my lunch. As I have a penchant for Chinese food I proceeded to Mann Hahn. I ordered my favorite Yangchow fried rice and camaron rebosado. I would have wanted to order more like spring rolls and lechon kawali but I wouldn't be able to consume them all. As a result I had to make do with just one viand with almond jelly for dessert.
As even the smallest order was too much for me, I had to take home my leftover which was about three fourths of my entire order. I was happy with my meal and was looking forward to partaking of it again at dinner.
After taking my lunch with my doggie bag in hand, I went back to the condo. I then started conversing with the man who was doing the repair. He was telling me that he was lucky they got this project. If there were no projects such as this one, he wouldn't have any income to bring home to his family. I asked him how they were paid and he said they are paid weekly. I inquired if he was married and if he had any kids. He said he has 3 children. He said that through hard work and God's grace, he was able to send them off to school. The two older ones are now engineers who are working abroad, while the youngest is graduationg next year with an HRM course.
It was then that I started to really take notice of this man. I was awed by what I heard. He looked just like any typical laborer. Worn out and faded clothes plus a heavily lined face and hands that had obviously seen rougher days were very evident. Yet I found him to be very admirable and rightfully told him so. He said his eldest son got married unexpectedly because his then future daughter-in-law got pregnant. He was also the one who sent his daughter in law to college. He narrated that his second child is saving her hard earned money so she could build a house for him and his wife someday.
I felt for him. I felt sad that people like him should work really hard to earn a decent living and support their families. But I felt truly proud of the man.
It was at this point that I thought of giving him my precious "fried rice and camaron rebosado" so he, his wife and youngest child can have a decent meal tonight. It's okay, I can make do without it for dinner. He kept thanking me and he said his wife would be so pleased.
There will be other days, there will be more fried rice and camaron rebosados to come my way, but I certainly would not want to miss the chance of being a good Samaritan again.
This is but a simple deed but I know Jesus is smiling up there. I know HE is proud of me.
And that is all that matters.
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