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I Learnt My Life Lessons from A Gambler

© Jennie S. Bev

Afford to lose, afford to win. ~ Siat, Ie Ming (1909-1996), Jennie Siat's beloved grandfather.

I learnt my life lessons from a gambler. My grandfather loved to gamble. He bet big and small, skillfully and unskillfully. Once he won a store that fed his family for at least forty years, once he lost a large sum of money that he had to "escape" from debt collectors. Despite all that, he led a very healthy, cherished and stable life. He died old surrounded by his family in a hospital bed warmed by love and care. (Please note that the term "gambler" in this article simply means "A person who loves to gamble and gamble frequently, for various simple and perplexing reasons.")

From the first day I was born, I knew he was an extraordinary man. He was never angry with anybody and lived his life simply and flowingly. At some level, I found his spirit to be identical with that of Forrest Gump's. Somewhat silly, purposeless, but yields abundance.

He left Shanghai, his hometown when he was thirteen years old. Hong Kong was his destination. He worked hard in the new land and finally he was able to pursue a career as a cameraman and a movie director. He wasn't a very good cameraman or a movie director, I assume, because his movies didn't make any hit.

In his twenties, he left Hong Kong for Southeast Asia, Indonesia, where he met my grandmother who was a stage actress. Her name is Tjiauw, Jun Chiao. She was playing in the only silver screen movie she has ever played titled A Sweet Dream in Bali Island and met my grandfather. They got married at the beginning of World War II in 1942 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

His life flew freely from moment to moment. The war hindered him to make any more movies and made him started a laundry business in the store he once won in a game with friends. He didn't make a lot of money from that business, but sufficient for a middle class lifestyle with his wife, only daughter and only granddaughter.

He didn't retire, even when colon cancer stroked him in 1995, the only major disease that he ever had and caused his death. He loved working, I suppose. Above all, he loved living.

His spirit to live touched and inspired many people, especially me. He didn't complain. He didn't curse. He didn't have anger. He didn't feel afraid. He didn't feel sad. He smiled. He nodded. He listened. He talked. He played. He gambled. He acted. He lived.