Ko Aung

Ko Aung walked through this world for sixty-six years, and in all of them he was essentially the same person: unhurried, attentive, reliable in the way that a good piece of joinery is reliable — built to last, honest in its construction, better with age.

He ran his workshop on Strand Road for thirty-one years and made furniture the way some people tell the truth — without shortcuts, in a way meant to last. He taught eleven apprentices. He kept the same three jokes for forty years and laughed at every one of them every time. We miss him in small moments, constantly. We are grateful that he was ours.