The Footballer
When the family was visiting a relative in an old folks’ home, there was this senior citizen who was persistently walking around the garden, despite needing to pull around his walking frame. He fell occasionally (trying to move faster with the walking frame is cumbersome), but he would always get up to continue walking, in a stubborn bid to exercise. The caretaker shared that this old man used to be an active footballer back in his younger days.
I was more struck with how persistent he was to keep getting up. He has to rely on a walking frame, he fell many times, but he would always, always get up to continue walking.
I felt compelled to draw about him. In the human motif, the torso and legs are intentionally not connected, to symbolize the trouble he had with his legs.
It’s been a challenging period in life lately, but looking back at this painting reminded that we all need to get up and keep walking, no matter what.
