Stuff That We Don't Do Anymore

I think we don't do this anymore, produce such manuscripts.... This is an age of computer, where every conceivable kind of lettering can be done and produced in the shortest possible time. In time to come, we might not even be writing on paper....

There were 2 of these framed manuscripts and they hang at the entrance of our home church. Home church was the church of my youth. It was where we did our growing up, learned about God and also about responsibilities. It was where we were given opportunities to test and discover ourselves.

For years, everyone of us who goes back to our home church would be greeted by these framed words. They looked like they are printed but closer scrutiny will reveal that they are handwritten. I think I must have walked past these so many times and not quite see them. Strange huh? How we can sometimes not see things which are right in front of our eyes. Or even if we see them, they tend to disappear into the labyrinth of our minds... seeing but not quite seeing. Anyway, we met up with some old friends and as usual did some catching up after service. Sis was with me... she had come back to see our parents. And so she was catching up with her old friends, and we with ours. And that was when, we were reminded of her artistic labour more than 20 years ago.

Manuscript writing used to be taught in Art lessons during my time. I never liked Arts simply because I was terrible at it. And there were many like me. My school saw that and streamed us into Perdagangan instead of Art for SRP. So we did Homescience (or Industrial Arts for the boys) and Commerce. No Art. 8) The church entrance is a place where I must have walked so many times. Yet during this last visit, because sis was with me, she struck up conversation with a a senior of hers. I was hanging around too, talking to my old friends too. And I relearn a piece info I had almost forgotten.

Sis liked Art and her manuscript writing was very good. She didn't mind spending hours practising her manuscripts. I had no such patience. And so when the new church was completed, the late Rev Hwa Chien approached her and commissioned her to do these... Now they hang on these walls. I think they're already artifacts in a sense cos people don't do them any more these days. In time to come too, this will join the ranks of the lost art. The computer will substitute all these manual and time consuming labour, in the process robbing also a little bit of the old ways from us too.