My father, when he was working, used to take problems home. He stewed on them as he did household chores or listened to music or played his cello. At night, he slept on them. Many times I saw him at work, eager and excited, told me that he had solved the problem the night before while he was sleeping.
Now in his old age, the one big problem he has to solve is being able to sleep. The solution does not lie in sleeping but in waking. He tries drinking warm milk, camomile tea, or snacking a small cookie. He checks the time when he wakes and estimates the approximate time when he falls asleep. The problem, unlike his youthful ones, requires compromise. It is almost comical at times to watch the great man bowing down to a slippery teaser. But as his body wears down, his mind is still a beautiful thing.
Photo by Karen Lam.
