A Set of Metal Knife & Fork.

I do not know if it’s a combination of a lack of sleep, work, loads of Kirin beer and harmless looking sakae pumped into my guts or just memories but all it took was a set of metal knife and fork on a flight back from Japan to bring tears to my eyes. And I blamed it on those damn hooligans who caused us so much grief with air travel.

I mean there’s so much restrictions to what we can, well mostly cannot, bring on air travel today to such an extend that I once had a small and I mean puny small pair of scissors confiscated from my hand carrier. What am I going to do with that? Hijack the plane with it? ‘Take me to oh I don’t know, ok Anfield! I demand it! Or I shall ravage your hair with this mean looking pair of paper sissors!’ And here I am seated on a flight back home with my pre-packed lunch served with a set of long metal knife and fork. Gee, surely they won’t be afraid of these. I am certain my scissors would triumph over them anytime. After all, it is stronger than paper and its only nemesis is stone. Sheesh.

Anyway, so I was just about to slice my warmed up wholesome bun with this harmless knife and that’s when it hit me. Kinda like some type of time travel, I was brought decades, yes I am that old, back and seated next to me on the plane was my grams.

Like all sweet old ladies, she had this habit of pushing all the food she thought would be best for her favourite grandchild. The bun, the chicken and she would eat the rest which he doesn’t like, veggies and whatever not. Of course I would push them all back to her as I got my own meal to sort out. Unless if its dessert! And after the meal, she would peer over her shoulders and when the coast is clear, wrapped the set of cutleries with the cloth napkins and slipped them into my hand carrier much to my chagrin.

Every time I travelled with her, I loathed having to sit next to her as the inevitable will happen. Its embarrassing grams I would wail to her when we disembarked. We have loads of them bought from the stores why do we need any of these from the airline? She would just smile and say she likes the quality of these.

I finished my meal while trying hard to compose myself, it wouldn’t be nice to be seen tearing over the food by my boss who was just a seat away though he would probably think I was crying over the awful lunch. I peered over my shoulder and when the coast was clear, I slipped my set of metal knife and fork into the hand carrier. For old time’s sake grams. This one’s for you wherever you may be. I miss you.