A Fateful Dinner

“Dinner is ready, Ken,” Ken’s mum called.
Ken was immersed in an adventure book, “OK, Mum.”
Five minutes later,
“Dinner is getting cold, Ken, come right now!” his dad called.
Ken took the book with him to the dining room; his mum and dad were waiting.
“Put that book away, son, eat your dinner now,” his dad said.
“But I nearly finished it,” Ken’s eyes were glued on the book.
“Put that book away!” his dad said sternly.
“Tell us about your school today, did anything interesting happen?” his mum tried to calm the air.
“Nothing new really.”
“We know you love reading, but why don’t you have a hobby like other kids?” his mum asked.
“Reading is a hobby, Mum, and I want to be a great reader when I grow up.”
“Reading is good, but we hope you have a proper hobby like collecting stamps, playing some musical instruments, making some art crafts, painting pictures or writing …” his mum went on.
“Mmm! I like the idea of painting and writing, my art teacher Mrs Greenford said my drawings were very good, and I always get an A plus in English, but what shall I paint or write?”
“Why not start by writing a short story and drawing some pictures for the story?” his dad suggested.
“That sounds difficult, I don’t know what to write…”
“Or paint a picture then write a poem or something for it,” his mum suggested.
“Mmm…” Ken’s eyes fixed on a painting on the wall, he made a decision.

Fifteen years later,
“Congratulations, Mr Parkton. Today’s exhibition was a big success, and you have two books on the best sellers list at the same time; as a young artist, how did you come to choose both painting and writing as a career?”
“It all started at a dinner when I was about ten, my father was upset about me reading at the dinner table, and my mother suggested that I have a hobby…the painting on the wall of the dining room made the decision for me.”
“What was the decision?”
“To take up painting and writing as my hobby.”
“What was the painting on the wall?” the reporter asked.
“Salvador Dali’s ‘The Persistence of Memory’, as a child I was fascinated by those melting clocks, and often wondered about the intriguing visions in Dali’s head, so I started to copy his painting style and write stories about my own paintings; over the years I developed my own style and concepts which led to what you saw today.” Ken replied.

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