When it comes to cycling around the island, we can always think of such a picture.
©Korean drama "If you like it, please ring the bell" Stills
The sky is in the sky, the breeze blows, the girl hugged the boy's waist tightly, leaned her head against the boy's shoulder, and the electric car speeds forward, leaving the beauty and the throbbing of youth behind.
What if it were a group of elderly people riding around the island? How is
? I am in my twenties, why don’t I stay at home well, aren’t I afraid of falling?
In November 2007, 17 elderly people with an average age of 81 years completed this feat: 13 days, riding a motorcycle, traveling around Taiwan Island...
They used their practical actions to fight back against the common prejudice of society against the elderly, and people called them "the immortal knights."
Their stories were made into documentary , and they still inspire many elderly people to live out their own lives.
© "The Ageless Knight: Ou Doumai's Diary of Taiwan" poster
In addition to giving the courage to the elderly, the editor was moved by a "cycling couple" - 72-year-old grandmother Chen Yingmei and 71-year-old grandfather Zhang Hongdao.
They are the only couple in the fleet.
When I got married, I didn’t have a honeymoon trip because I was busy. The days after marriage will only be busier. The two have been busy with work and family, and have not traveled far in fifty years.
The husband has always felt guilty: he wants to give his wife a special honeymoon trip.
My wife has always had a wish: ride a motorcycle and go around Taiwan Island.
So, for them, this island ride is the two of them "second honeymoon", and they also want to enjoy the two-person world once.
During the journey, the two of them rode at the same speed, neither fast nor slow. Although it is not conspicuous, in them, the editor saw the silent tacit understanding and company between the two. It turns out that riding is a gentle and romantic thing.
Don't envy the passionate love at first sight
Just want long-lasting
"When I was in love, I didn't dare to walk together, I had to go one after another, for fear of being thrown away by others."
"Holding hands is like an electric shock, I want to think about it for a day."
documentary says this when talking about love time.
It was an era when I was too cautious about love. I held hands and kissed before getting married. At that time, it was a challenge to social customs. Everyone had no concept of falling in love before getting married. Many couples met on blind dates.
My grandmother and Hongdao Grandpa are no exception. There are no earth-shaking stories. They met through acquaintances.
got married less than a month after they met. They didn’t know each other before they got married, and they slowly got to know each other after getting married.
They do not have the heartbeat of love at first sight, but they have the love that has been in love over time and flowing forever. The former is usually vigorous and short-lived, while the latter is dull but evergreen.
A lifelong marriage is a common thing in that era, but not many people can always be loving and stay together. How lucky they have met each other who deserve lifelong entrustment.
The two people have a big difference in their personalities.
Grandpa Hongdao used to be a prominent family, with complex family relationships. His father died early, and his stepmother did not treat him well. He often felt inferior.
Grandma Yingmei is from an ordinary family with harmonious family relationships. She is a treasure held by her parents. She is confident and optimistic.
2
Two two people with such great differences in personality and family background can come together, support each other, and spend decades together. There is a very important reason. They jointly run their life career- "Pastor" .
The most thing they do is to play the piano together, sing beautiful church poetry, and enjoy the quiet time. Together preach the gospel, immersed in the beautiful world of poetry and musical notes, their love for each other deepened little by little.
©Documentary "The Knight of the Age" stills
We all yearned for surprises everywhere in life, but those calm and ordinary daily life will make each other last longer.
I am you
The gentlest and strongest backing
The precious thing about their love is that they support each other in their lifetime.
20 years ago, Grandpa Hongdao made an important decision to give up the cram school and concentrate on preaching and preaching.
Grandpa Hongdao’s cram school is very profitable. Giving up holding cram school means that their living standards will be reduced to many levels.
Everyone thinks he must be crazy. Let go of the whole family and ignore it?
But he said, "I have been making money for the first half of my life, and I have to earn my soul for the second half of my life, and I have to preach the gospel."
Mrs. Yingmei understands him. She quit her job and took on the important task of taking care of the family and educating her children, so that Grandpa Hongdao preached and taught without worries.
However, after quitting his job, the family lost another source of income and living conditions dropped sharply.
When my good friend came to visit Grandma Yingmei, she was shocked when she saw the family was barely covered and asked, "Didn't you marry a famous family? How could you live so poorly?"
In the face of these, Yingmei was not at all unhappy. She explained the situation patiently. Even if the friends didn't understand, the relatives and friends around her could not accept it. Grandma Yingmei also supported her grandfather as always and was his most gentle and strong backing.
Because I love you, I support all your decisions. You boldly do what you want to do, and I will always support you behind your back.
Grandpa Hongdao is also deeply in love with Grandma Emi and has great care.
Grandma Yingmei had cancer twice, and her grandfather was the one who pulled her out of the trough of her life.
Grandma Yingmei's first breast cancer. She discovered it early and fortunately escaped, but then the malignant gastric cancer came to her again.
Grandma Yingmei said in frustration, "God gave me two instructions. The first is breast cancer and the second is stomach cancer. I can't be too nostalgic for the world."
She felt that this was God's instructions. She was tired and didn't want to persist anymore.
Grandma Yingmei was not afraid or shed tears, but her enthusiasm for life suddenly became cold. Uncertainty filled her life, and every day when she opened her eyes, she wondered when God would take her away.
Grandma Yingmei was so depressed for a year.
When everyone was discussing in 2000, Grandma Yingmei felt that she could not see the dawn of the 21st century.
"I'm going to heaven." Grandma Yingmei often talks about this sentence.
Grandpa Hongdao felt very distressed, "You want to go to heaven? You are so selfish, you are enjoying happiness in heaven, I am lonely and helpless here."
However, how could Grandma Yingmei be willing to let her grandpa stay alone in the world?
So she continued to see a doctor and actively received treatment.
Grandpa Hongdao sang her beloved Bible poems with her. They were immersed in the beautiful world of musical notes and prayed for peace and joy.
They actively participated in sports together, running and walking slowly. Grandpa pulled grandma out of the dark house and pulled her to the sunny park, and also pulled her out of the abyss of disgust with life.
They help more elderly people, and in the process of giving, they gain more happiness and positive energy.
A smile gradually appeared on Grandma Yingmei's face, and her life became brighter and more happy.
Finally, God seemed to hear their prayers, and Grandma Yingmei successfully fought cancer.
Two people have walked through the trough of life together and have never been separated from each other since then.
At the age of 70
Return to the 17-year-old
The wife after successfully fighting cancer is like reborn in Nirvana.
She has become more passionate about life and is always actively trying new things around her.
Grandma Yingmei saw the recruitment information about riding around the island in the newspaper, and excitedly asked Grandpa Hongdao if he wanted to be with her.
The elderly cycling around the island is simple and simple. As long as they meet the recruitment conditions, they can participate.
The first condition, over seventy years old, they meet.
The second condition is that you can ride a motorcycle, and they also meet it.
Then go!
"I didn't have the opportunity to go on a honeymoon trip when I got married. Now both of them are retired. I'll give you a honeymoon trip."
But it's hard to ride around the island.
No matter how ambitious the soul is, the body is still the body of seventy and eighty years old, and it is inevitable that there will be various situations.
A knight dozed off the middle and fell off the car.
There was a knight who was turning the corner, because it was too dark and his body was not balanced, so he fell down.
The initiator suspended his cycling and was hospitalized for several days due to physical illness.
There are also various thrilling road conditions on the way around the island.
After the typhoon, some sections of road collapsed.
If you ride on such a road, if you don’t pay attention, you will fall into the valley.
Suhua Highway is the most impressive section of Grandma Yingmei.
Suhua Highway, Taiwan's most beautiful sea-ring road, clear water cliff, pleasant scenery, but it is also a worrying death road. Every year, many people die in traffic accidents and cliff collapse.
That day, there were cliffs on one side, the vast Pacific Ocean on the other side, and the heavy sand and gravel trucks whizzing past.
No one dares to be greedy for the beautiful scenery and take a few more glances, because next to it is the abyss.
Everyone is cheering up and dare not be slackening.
did not check in, did not take photos, and did not even have time to take a quick look at the beautiful scenery. , but the thrilling and exciting feeling made Grandma Yingmei and Grandpa Hongdao excited for a long time.
The excitement and excitement was probably decades ago. They feel that they are decades younger. What kind of honeymoon is more exciting and exciting than riding around the island?
Grandma Yingmei used to have only two destinations for riding a motorcycle, one was the vegetable market and the other was the church.
She never thought that a motorcycle would take her so far, nor did she expect that her late honeymoon trip would fulfill her big wish. She rode around the island and bypassed the Taiwan Island, which had raised her for more than 70 years.
People with bright and happy hearts will always come as expected.
I am no longer young,
only the passion to live side by side with you
Grandma Yingmei and Grandpa Hongdao are undoubtedly happy. They can ride around the island with each other, and they will be with each other for the rest of their lives, but not everyone can be so lucky.
There is also a special "couple" with them because the wife is no longer there.
When I was young, Grandpa Qingtong took his wife to the island every year.
Once, Grandpa Qingtong and his wife rode a motorcycle around the island. The wind was light and the clouds were light, just as comfortable as the little romance in their ordinary days.
The wife lay on his back and said, "Tong, how long can I carry you?"
Honey smiled and said, "When I was eighty, if I was not dead, I would definitely carry you."
How could I know, after two or three years, my wife, who had been married for 40 years, suddenly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and left like that.
Ko Grandpa Qingtong always feels that his wife is still there.
He took his wife's photo and placed his favorite flowers before his death next to him. He carried his wife around the island in this way. He has been doing this for 20 years.
says that only those who listen to the promise remember, but Grandpa Qingtong is a "small-headed young man". Although the person who listens is no longer there, he has been silently sticking to the promise.
He said, "I will pay back the debt no matter what. At the age of 80, I will definitely carry her around the island again."
Grandpa Qingtong's affection is touching. Maybe he will spend the rest of his life in this vague nostalgia. If he can start over, he will definitely want to carry his wife around the island again, but there is no if in life.
Things are impermanent, you will never know when the day you leave will come.
Birth, old age, sickness and death are the norm in the world. We do not need to resist, nor can we resist.
The departure of the deceased is to remind the living to cherish each other. Grandpa Hongdao understands, and Grandma Yingmei understands too. The story of Grandpa Qingtong and his wife touched them deeply, and also reminded them to cherish the time they spent together.
"We don't know that we will leave the world that day in our lives, so we should cherish it again," Grandpa Hongdao turned his head and said to Grandma Emi gently, "We will have a date once a week in the future, okay?"
She looked shy and lowered her head to agree.
They never say "like and love you" in their mouths, but their eyes can't hide it.
Grandpa's eyes were shy when he looked at his grandma, and his grandma also had a shy face when responding. Time did not dilute their feelings, but made this love more and more mellow.
Together, we have experienced the choice of important directions in life, and through the trough of illness, from not being so familiar with each other, to knowing each other, and then supporting each other.
There is wind and rain, so face the wind and rain together; when it is dull, sit down quietly and play the piano and sing a poem; they love the days as they come.
The life of Grandma Yingmei and Grandpa Hongdao was discussed from scratch and came to the present.
"The most beautiful love is that I am no longer young, and I only have the passion to live side by side with you."
For the rest of my life, they will be each other's most gentle knights.
©Documentary "The Knight of the Age" Stills
