Goosefoot Stick for Old and Fragile Mother

The story has virtually created a syndrome, goosefoot cane syndrome. Phone calls and mail flowed in after the Dong-a Ilbo reported a story about Park Jung-ho, a guard working at Daegu City Family Cemetery in Chilgok-gun in North Gyeongsang Province who hands out goosefoot sticks to old people.

Some 100 messages have been sent from people nationwide including a housewife in her 30s and an old man in his 60s. ˝It was a moving story and I like to get a goosefoot stick for my parents, too,˝ those messages said.

The story served as a rare chance for families to look back upon themselves in this era of the so-called nucleus families, about love for their old parents.

˝I did not know that my mother said `I rather stay at home` at times of family outing because her cane was so heavy and it was hard for her to walk around,˝ said Namgung Chung-man, 40-year-old man living with his 82-year-old mother who has an aging problem with her legs. ˝She is now old and fragile after all the hard work for me and my six siblings, but I have not prepared a single cane for her as son.˝

˝I have always felt sorry that I could not often visit my father, who had his leg hurt during the Korean War,˝ said 34-year-old housewife Park Hyun-gyung living in Daejeon. ˝I want to get a goosefoot cane for my father.˝

˝I came to realize how uncaring I was to my 75-year-old mother,˝ said 48-year-old businessman Baek Seung-gu. ˝I checked my mother`s stick after reading the story and found that it must have been too heavy for her.˝

˝My 81-year-old mother living in Seoul often said that her cane was too heavy, but I did not pay much attention,˝ said 66-year-old Lee Il-doo in Seongnam City in Gyeonggi-do. ˝I will get a stick that is much easier to carry around for her.˝

A 60-year-old man living in Gumi City in North Gyeongsang Province visited Park to get two goosefoot sticks for his parents in their 80s. ˝Is there a way that I can buy goosefoot canes for all the old men living in Dongdaemun-gu area?˝ asked 45-year-old Lee Man-hee living in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul.

˝I have thought about getting a goosefoot cane for my wife,˝ said 82-year-old Park Jong-joo who found the story very heartwarming. ˝This time I am determined to get one for my wife.˝

˝I am working hard to make many sticks since it seems that there are lots of old people in need of the sticks,˝ said Park while fertilizing his goosefeet field. ˝I will make as many canes as I can so that those people asking for goosefoot canes can get ones for their parents as they wish.˝

boriam@donga.com