On a recent trip to my native Seattle, I told my father about the Japanese movie by director Hirokazu Koreeda called After Life here in the United States. He had never seen the movie, but I had described the plot in rough form. When people die, they go to a place where there is a movie production company. There the staff interviews the new arrivals to get them to select the one memory that they can take with them as they pass on to wherever that might be. A movie is made of that one memory, that they get to take with them as how they remember their life. When I told my father this plotline, I asked him what memory he might want to keep with him for the rest of time.
Oddly, without hesitation he told me a story from his childhood. His older brother left home when he was young due to a disagreement with his father. They were thirteen years separated in age, but the bond was clearly very strong as he spoke of his older brother in respectful terms. There was a long story about how his brother went through many circuitous paths through a network of relatives, to finally end up back at the family home for a brief respite after WWII. This brother, named "Eiryoo" (a classical name for a monk apparently), took some carrot leaves and lightly sauteed them in curry powder, and served this over some rice. He described this moment as one of wonder as he had never tasted something so delicious. This simple moment in childhood is what inspired my father later to become a cook, and is the most precious memory to him. What is your most precious memory?
Posted by maeda at February 15, 2006 08:22 PM