Fish in a barrel on a bike

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I'm so sad that I didn't have my camera when the following occurred. The whole scene was so China! Sometimes even those of us who LOVE Chinese food give in to momentary desires for french fries and the following unfolded as Sen and I were sitting in the window seats at McDonald's, eating lunch and people-watching...

On the rode, lying on its side, was a bike. Just a normal bike, nothing fancy, definitely well-used. On the back of the bike was a 3-foot high, skinny, dark blue barrel. Standing next to the bike, looking down at the ground in stunned disbelief, was a man, approximately 30 years old. Lying on the road, surrounding the bike and man, were about 20 great big fish, each at least a foot long, flopping around and bouncing inch-by-inch across the road. As we watched, the man righted the bike, wrestled each fish into his arms, and threw them into the barrel (where I presume they came from in the first place). It was an excruciating process to watch, as the fish were feisty and kept flopping right out of his hands. And the traffic rushing by (did I mention it was a big 4-lane road?) didn't help matters. Finally, the man managed to get all the fish back into the barrel. After quickly checking the lines that secured the barrel to the bike (I assume the quickness was owing to the fact that all the water from the barrel was now on the street), he walked to the front of the bike, took a running start, hopped onto the seat, and began pedaling away, swaying back and forth in his struggle to maintain the balance and gain speed.

Oh, China! This occurred on our friend Darcy's birthday and ironically, Darcy has a thing for fish (because of her last name - not because she's weird). Just a coincidence? Or was it a great big "Happy Birthday, Darcy!" from the cosmos? I'd have to say coincidence, because when you live in China, fish in a barrel on a bike just seems normal.

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Comments

[lila]

hi there!
hi dawn! nice to meet you at darcy's party. hope to see you again soon :)