Minding the Store

 MINDING THE STORE

Not far from our home stood a three-storey shophouse. It was fairly modern in comparison to those around it. A middle-aged Chinese man had a small grocery store here. And it was one of the best stocked shops in the neighbourhood. He had a variety of goods, including  imported groceries, clothes, small appliances to children's toys.

Any outsider seeing this small, bespectacled and stocky man for the first time would never have suspected he was the proprietor of this successful little store. He rarely if ever rang up a sale at the cash register, was never visible for stock inventory, nor present for any of the myriad tasks one would suspect of a store manager.

Instead, he would busy himself in the most unusual of entrepreneurial ways. He was a master of the arts, so to speak. He would sit behind the checkout counter and play a melodious tune on a flute. He would slouch over a box of tin goods and sketch a remarkably detailed drawing. Whenever a festive event was nearing, he would be crouched at the staircase of his shop, painting either a Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Deepavali or Christmas themed mural. He was an amazingly talented man!

At the time I wondered whether his actions were those of a madman or a dreamer. To the frequent shopper, he was most certainly the keeper of their goods. To anyone who studied him -- and I include myself -- he was above all else a man who had mastered the art of mind over matter.

© Breyel, Timm. "Minding the Store". All rights reserved.