Memoirs of an Ice-Cream Lady (Part 8)
By Emily Ho
Editor’s Note: The author runs an ice-cream parlor on Hong Kong’s Lamma Island. When time allows, she draws caricatures and writes. The following are semi-autobiographical anecdotes blending fact and fiction.
Three Incense Sticks
Most local Chinese people regard Lamma Island as nice to visit, but an inconvenient place to live. Young people, who work hard and play hard, can’t imagine losing their sleep-time for a 30-minute ferry ride or catching the final ferry from the city at 12:30 a.m. By then, many of them still warble at the karaoke bars in the Mong Kok or Tsim Sha Tsui districts.
Elderly folks dislike Lamma’s “three huge incense sticks”, actually the chimneys of a massive power plant. The old people regard incense sticks as being for the deceased. To the most traditional Chinese people, death remains a taboo topic. True, no one can avoid it, not even in the world’s most populous country. But they try to avoid it by saying, seeing, hearing or thinking nothing about it.
Once when Emily was little, her father beat her for mentioning death at the Chinese New Year. Within a few years, her father had passed away, and she blamed herself for saying the wrong thing.
A few years ago, the electricity company built a Lamma windmill. Superstitious critics liken it to three sharp blades. Many Chinese people believe that sharp objects can bring injuries to anyone nearby. Emily wonders how many old people packed their belongings with shivering hands.
No wonder so many “foreigners” live on Lamma. They don’t realize the hidden meanings of those big incense sticks and whirling blades.
One Day When We Were Young?
As Emily giggled at the imaginary scene of superstitious senior citizens fleeing from Lamma Island, her mind switched at the speed of light to something else. Here’s the scene:
“May I help you, sir?” With a big smile, Emily greeted a customer.
“A chocolate ice-cream cone, please,” the customer said.
“Certainly.” One of Emily’s own shivering hands dipped a scoop into the ice cream.
“Thanks very much,” Emily said appreciatively, handing the ice cream to her customer.
“Oh, my goodness! Look! There’s a TOOTH in the ice cream!” screamed the customer.
“Terribly sorry, sir,” Emily apologized with her mouth wide open, revealing a big gap between her remaining front teeth. “Let me pick that out. It’s just my false tooth. You can’t help it when you’re getting old.”
Probably that would be Emily’s worst nightmare. She enjoys trying new things and doesn’t want to stay in the same business until age eighty-plus.
Faith
“What will you sell in the winter? Nobody eats ice cream then!”
Many people, especially Lamma folks, had warned Emily that the ice-cream business would turn bad in the winter. She didn’t worry. Actually, ice cream is for winter more than for summer because it dehydrates the body.
As a first-time proprietor, Emily stood ready for all the responsibilities and difficulties. Probably the biggest challenge for most proprietors is not receiving the paycheck that used to arrive each month. Most people starting a business will lose money (more than 70 per cent fail within three years, statistics show), but few predict it or willingly consider it. Emily knew she’d never be her own boss if the fear of losing money or losing face could intimidate her.
“Lots of businesses, like the travel industry and even private practitioners, have peaks and low seasons, but they keep going. I see no point to worry that people may eat less ice cream in the winter. The first thing I must do is to prepare.”
That’s what Emily told herself when walking along the Main Street. All the time, she held her chin up.
Coming soon:
Mixed-Up Advice Between Scoops
(more Memoirs of an Ice-Cream Lady)
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