When I was little, no older than 5 or 6 years old, my parents would take me to this Wantan noodle shop along Jalan Tengkera for a bowl of Wantan noodles. My favourite then as now, is the "dry" noodles served with strips of char siew pork, blanched choy sum and a bowl of clear thin soup on the side. Now this shop was very popular back in those days and it was usually quite busy when we went there. There was this picture hanging on the wall and as i ate my noodles i would gaze at the picture which showed a classic pose of the Archangel St.Michael vanquishing the Devil. At that time when i was small the picture looked much bigger. It struck me as a rather odd picture but i was nonetheless mesmerised by it, the angelic face of St Michael all pure all pale and looking rather stern, looking down on the Devil whose head was being trampled under St Michael's foot. I pitied the Devil, i thought "now why would someone do this to someone else? That fellow is a tad dirty-looking and dark-complexioned and he has horns and he does look fearful, but so does that fellow who is stepping on him." That picture locked itself into my mind and i'd always remember it even long after we had stopped going to the shop and long after i'd grown up. The shop with the picture, the smell and tastes of noodles, the gravy sweet and tasty, me munching on noodles and looking at that picture which was so over-aweing and yet so odd in such a little shop as this. But it is a very popular picture. My wife's family home has the same picture hanging on the front entrance of the house. Now that i'd grown much older and read about St Michael as God's head bouncer, i understand the meaning of that picture which is to symbolise the triumph of good over evil. i take comfort in that and i have even invoked the archangel Michael in prayer. Whether that is proper or not i am not quite sure, but i am told by those who know that God is not quite ready yet to send St Michael down to do battle with the forces of darkness. Not quite ready yet.
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