Wedding in Singapore

I made a trip to Singapore this past weekend to attend the wedding of Song, a Singaporean navy officer who lived next door to me at Hammarskjold House during my Stanford days. I had the honor to recite a bible passage chosen by the couple during the wedding ceremony but was asked not to add any creative embellishments to the passage. Later, during the precious 15-second personal interaction with the couple at the post-ceremony banquet, Grace, the bride, said a few people were asking about me (sadly, the first thought that came to my mind was that they were interested in advertising with Google). I apparently became known as the "hot scripture reader" who would help increase church attendance if I were to do it regularly.

In the restroom, I pondered about the comment as I admired myself donned in qipao and stilettos in the full-length mirror, indulged in vanity. Standing next to me were two Cantonese ladies in their sixties. In loud Cantonese, they complained and wondered why their cheeks got fleshier and droopier over the years as they reapplied their makeup in vain. I noticed one of them was wearing a pair of black, flat-heeled, grandma leather shoes.

I was reminded of a note that a schoolmate wrote me before I left for the States eleven years ago. In the note, she quoted Proverbs 31:30,

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting"

When I am 60, I will continue to wear stilettos. Perhaps not 4-inch but 1.5-inch ones.