Travel Light

Once upon a time, a baby named Clara went out to lunch with her mom and aunt (that’s me) at a Chinese restaurant in downtown Kingston called New Kam Tong. Clara simply liked it there, not because her last name is in Chinese or for anything else.

There were two Chinese female servers in that restaurant.  Because I am forgetful, let’s call them Zhang and Ziyi.  They both loved playing with Clara and would serve her a piece of those Chinese crackers.

Those crackers really did melt in her mouth.

After lunch, Clara would always have those crackers in her take-away bag tucked somewhere in her push chair’s utility basket. Then off we go to Boots where her mom would buy her Cow & Gate milk and meals and lots of Huggies.

Clara didn’t like going to Boots. Although it’s warmer inside, she found it cramped with many people and office furniture blocking her way and view. She loved staying out in the cold.

It was in one of those benches you see at those Mr. Bean flicks that Clara and I met a couple of old women who looked like the Queen Mother. We would exchange smiles and pleasantries with them as we didn’t know how to curtsy.

A dozen of pigeons descended from the deck parking when Clara pulled out her take-away bag to eat some of those fish crackers. We fed the birds fish crackers despite the sign not to give food to them. We thought it was good. And the pigeons loved her.