Despite knowing our acting standards have risen because of exposure in working with international directors and actors, the lower expectation tends towards pleasant surprises, be it choice of location, script or acting skill.
The opening scene was at a park with some matured trees and expanse of green grass of an open field. A father and daughter (of about 5 years old) were playing hide and seek. It was her turn to close her eyes while her father was to hide. She counted to ten and started looking for him. When she could not find him, she started calling out for him, getting more and more anxious and panicky as would be expected of such a young girl. She started to cry. Suddenly a scene in a bus and it turned out a young lady was having a bad day dream of her childhood, sitting next to her boyfriend.
As the story unfolded, there were flashbacks of her as a child, with her parents and later with her widower father.
It was during one of their visits to the park that her mother went out to buy some food and was knocked down by a car and died instantly. He could not get over the loss of his wife and ended up drinking alcohol to drown his sorrows. The disappearing act, leaving his daughter alone in the park was supposed to be for her own good as he could not look after her.
The scene of the daughter being left alone in the park, by her own father, moved me to tears. I could relate to being separated from my children.
The first time was when I flew back from UK, leaving my wife and son (3 years old then) for the next few months before they returned to Malaysia for good. I felt helpless then, knowing she had to drive back to Leeds from Heathrow Airport. Instead of looking forward to returning to Malaysia, I started to miss them during the flight.
When I was working in KL and my wife working in Batu Gajah, I was separated from my family during weekdays. Just to give an idea, Over a 12-year period, each time I left BG, I was leaving a son aged 4; then a son aged 6 and a daughter aged 1; then a son aged 8 and two daughters aged 3 and 1; until when I joined them in BG, my son was 16, and daughters 11 and 9! My wife can now laugh at those young mothers who need a maid when travelling with their babies. She used to travel occasionally to KL, bringing along 2 or 3 kids, using a wicker baby basket for the baby!
Just to show my worrying nature: when we were at the seaside and the children were in the sea, every minute or so I would be counting them mentally just to make sure they were alright. So, if I were to moralize on the behaviour of the father in 'Friends forever', then I would describe him as highly irresponsible for leaving his 5-year old daughter alone in park and hope that someone else would take care of her. Just imagine the trauma she had to go through.
I used my better judgment (against my wife's reasoning that it would not be a problem) when I accepted my nephew's offer to receive my daughter on her first trip to UK, which turned out not according to arrangements. The cab driver who was supposed to take her from Heathrow to Canterbury did not wait for her. When finally contacted him, he said, 'it would take another 2 hours' and it was already past 9 pm!
I believe there are many instances when we do have a choice. It is up to us to prioritize, hopefully, based on good judgment. Following is another story which I received and which I found uncanny in similarity to the first scene, yet what vast difference in father's attitude in comparison! :
Just Five More Minutes
While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground.
"That's my son over there," she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide.
"He's a fine looking boy," the man said. "That's my daughter on the bike in the white dress."
Then, looking at his watch, he called to his daughter. "What do you say we go, Melissa?"
Melissa pleaded, "Just five more minutes, Dad. Please? Just five more minutes."
The man nodded, and Melissa continued to ride her bike to her heart's content. Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his daughter, "Time to go now."
Again Melissa pleaded, "Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes."
The man smiled and said, "Okay."
"My, you certainly are a patient father," the woman responded.
The man smiled and then said, "Her older brother Tommy was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy, and now I'd give anything for just five more minutes with him. I've vowed not to make the same mistake with Melissa. She thinks she has five more minutes to ride her bike. The truth is, I get five more minutes to watch her play."
Life is all about making priorities. What are your priorities?
Give someone you love five more minutes of your time today!
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