Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Hunters & Gathers

Yesterday, I was talking to my grandfather on the phone. They have a "winter house" in Zhuhai, the sister city of Macao (like Shenzhen is the sister city of Hong Kong). They usually interchange living in Harbin (freezing cold in the winter but perfect in the summer) and Zhuhai (perfect in the winter and too hot and humid in the summer). We were talking about why he's been feeling lethargic lately.

Gramps: I have nothing to do here. I only tennis twice a week in the mornings (he's 80). Otherwise, I play some majong and that's about it. Life is pretty uneventful during retirement.
Me: Doesn't my grandma go out all the time. It seems like she's always hanging out in the malls. Why don't you go with her?
Gramps: Because she walks too slow. It takes her hours and hours to do anything. I get too bored when I'm there with her. Do you know why she's so slow?
Me: Please tell.
Gramps: It's because in the old days, men were hunters and women were gathers. Women would be working in the fields and had to pick which fruits were ripe and which were not. They had to choose. However, when we men were hunting, we just shot anything that came along. That's why I just go and buy what I need.
Me: I guess some things are the same no matter where your from.

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