An email from a wise man

I wrote to him recently.

salam pak muhammad,

sudah lama saya tidak menghubungi bapak. asyik-asyik terlupa sahaja walaupun berjam-jam menghadap komputer. apa khabar? Saya alhamdulillah. masih bertugas di Kuala Lumpur. 2 hari lepas genap setahun sudah bekerja di sana. dengar khabar gaji naik sedikit. baru-baru ini ada membeli antologi aksara usia (hidup?) karya bapak. terjumpa di pasar chowrasta penang.

saya insya allah kalau duit cukup nanti akan ke USA pada bulan Ogos 2005. sambung belajar kembali. tak lama. 2 minggu sahaja. belajar ' advanced theatrical clowning (Eccentric Performing) dengan Avner Eisenberg di Celebration Barn Theatre, Maine, USA.

sudah merancang utk singgah di Boston dan New York. mahu berjalan-jalan di Central Park dan tafakur di Ground Zero dan mengekori badut badut hospital (clown doctors) di Boston Children's Hospital.

salam,

iskandar

He replied:

sdr iskandar,

salam dari pulau pinang. menarik - lorong hidup yang sdr pilih, yang jarang dipilih oleh orang muda kita., pelajar saya menunggu kerja kerajaan saja. berbulan dan bertahun.

selamat jalan ke new york - kota yang sangat gila tapi sangat menarik.

sesiapa saja yang menjejak kaki di sana cepat mesra dan menjadi warganya.

kalau ada waktu kirimkan berita dari nyc.

muhammad

I first met him back in 2003 when I was travelling down to Bangkok from Vientiane to get my air ticket to USA. We stumbled upon each other at the Nara Skyway Station. He was with another writer, Khadijah Hashim, attending the SEA Writers Award ceremony in Bangkok that day. We corresponded with each other for a while. Then I returned to Malaysia and started working. Recently when I was in Penang, I got hold of his anthology " Aksara Usia" and luckily I still remember his email. So I wrote.

He is a seasoned traveller. I admire the way he observes things and places he has visited and express it in his beautiful poems.

Yes, I am going to write to him from NYC.