The art of ear digging.

My second sister went to one corner in China and this is what she got for me. Something dirt cheap !!! A bamboo ear digger !!! But it brings a wealth of sweet memories of our childhood. So, thoughtful of her. They say that young men see visions and old men dream dreams. It has some truths. Yours Sincerely ( Y S ) seems to reminisce more and more despite telling himself that "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift. That's why we call it the present." Anyway, what's wrong with a wee bit of reminiscing.

Ear digging was our favourite childhood pastime. This was years before "Johnson & Johnson" marketed the sophisticated cotton bud for ear cleaning. The "ENT Doctor" who was none other than beloved MUM who did it for all of us siblings on a monthly basis. We gleefully looked forward to the routine and had to practically queue up for it.

In her younger days, Mum dressed in " batek" sarong "Java" and see-through "Baju Bandung." Of course, the "see-through" part was visually blocked off by her thick over sized cotton brasseries, always white, and not the bikini types with thin plastic spaghetti, "beehon," "tanghoon," ( glass noodle) or " meesua" ( rice noodle ), in the descending order of thinness, straps which young girls parade around these day. Mum would sit on a low stool and her "patient" sat in between her thighs , on the cold cement floor, with the back facing her. Y S would tilt his head and positioned one side of his face on her thigh. The ear to be "excavated" was always facing the sky to get the light into it. Then, the "excavation" started.

Mum had a gold ear digger which she kept, of all places, in the bun of her hair. Y S wonders which sister of his inherited this special instrument from Mum. It seemed that a gold digger did not have sharp edges which would hurt the tender inner ear . With her left hand gently pressing down Y S' head, her right hand started the excavation. She did it with the deft and precision of an experienced surgeon. Each and every move of her hand sent tingling sensations right to the core of Y S' soul. The pleasure was so unsatiating that begged for more and more. Just as Y S pleasurably cringed at each movement of the golden ear digger, Mum seized the opportunity to reprimand, correct and advise. Under such circumstances, her counseling seeped deep into the soul and you just had to agreed with everything. She was millimetres away from your ear drum!

The excavated debris (wax) was gathered on Y S' index finger and among us siblings we used to compete to see who had the most. LOL. Y S being the naughtiest one, would fling his debris at his unsuspecting siblings or had it rubbed on their clothes. This had caused lots of "fights" but it was all an intimate part of growing up.

So, thanks sis for the small gift that brings such a big memory.