Random Ideas
I guess women in general like strolling about fairs or markets, I am the one. I am particularly interested in roaming about second-hand bookstores and antique markets. But antique market is really a dangerous place to ordinary people if you don’t have enough knowledge and experiences. Everything there looks old but is most probably recent fakes. There are several such markets in Beijing but I usually just go eye shopping from stall to stall, or spent little money for those small interesting things.
However, I am also attracted by another kind of market though we haven’t got such markets in China as far as I know. It is called “garage sales”. I learned from newspapers, novels and movies that in the US people would sell their old articles at their own garages or backyards from time to time. Such as old books, records, toys, furniture, tools, cloths, tableware, household appliances etc. Some things may no longer be useful to the original owners but maybe they are treasures to another one who is searching of it for ages and find it all by sheer chance. What’s more, if you are lucky enough, you can find things that only a few people will recognize for their true value. The pleasure is beyond any words can express. Usually the original owner would be also very happy that his old things have a new master and a right place to go. People would therefore become friends in this way and neither of them would care much about the prices. How interesting it is! This is a very good way for neighbors to be close and to know each other. I always feel the need to be close to somebody, I guess every one does. However, in modern society urban dwellers, particularly large city dwellers tend to keep a certain distance to other people especially to strangers for safety reasons. Often, we know our neighbors or we feel familiar of our neighbors only by sight but never talk each other even after living in a same community for many years.
At times I do miss the old days when people were living in concord with their neighboring and no security doors and windows were needed. Now the security doors and windows installed in every flat and every apartment shut out not only thieves, burglars but neighbors as well.
Jeannie
[此贴子已经被作者于2006-5-12 10:12:57编辑过]
