You Can Still Make It
“… When their wives could no longer withstand sleeping together with them, they got two houses: one for Chang’s wife, and the other for Eng’s wife. Then, the twins decided to alternate on weekly basis, each making love with his respective wife at his own turn …”
Chang Bunker and Eng Bunker, a set of conjoined twins
Some people are not only called victims of circumstances but are also looked down upon as such. Yet, a few of such people refer to themselves as victors, and actually became victors over circumstances. In other words, you call them victims of circumstances but they refer to themselves and turned out to be victors over circumstances.
The story of Chang and Eng Bunker, a set of conjoined twins, is one of the fascinating and amazing stories of all time that can be used to describe this assertion. They happened to be the first recorded story of conjoined twins. And by the way, Chang and Eng are Chinese names meaning “Left and Right.”Chang and Eng Bunker (May 11, 1811 – Jan 17, 1874) were twins: conjoined at a little above their waists. They were born in Thailand in 1811. The country now known as Thailand used to be called Kingdom of Siam, hence, the derivative, “Siamese twins!” Thus, they were the first of such to be called “Siamese Twins.”
In those days, most people concluded that they were victims of abnormal birth, a congenital anomaly. But they actually regarded themselves and worked hard to become victors over their negative circumstances.
Unlike these days, there were no medical technologies of separating conjoined twins then. Yet, in spite of their physical disabilities of having been forced and compelled by nature to move together, eat together, sleep together, bathe together, dress together, visit conveniences together, run together, swim together, and so on, yet, they still became very successful.
Chang and Eng passed through a lot of adversities at infancy. They also had a tough and hard time while growing up but they made the best out of it all and lived relatively normal lives as they aged on. They overcame all odds and prejudice to be on top of their “profession”. They did not only grow up together into adulthood, they lived to be sixty three years before they died.
Chang and Eng lived in an era when slave trade thrived. When they were teens, some slave traders bought and took them to America to be used as live exhibitions. They were into Performing Arts, pulling and amusing crowds and making money everywhere they went. They became tourist attraction in their days and traveled all over the world raising money for charity. And when they got tired of traveling, they settled down and became wealthy farmers. And because none like them ever existed, many people considered and treated them as monsters and strange animals. But then, in the process of time, and as a result of hard work, the twins too, acquired many plantations, and became slave owners.
The two of them also got married, with each having his wife, and both having twenty one children: Chang had eleven and Eng had ten. Interestingly, they got married to two sisters of the same parents, Adelaide and Sally Yates in 1843.
You may be curious to know how they managed their marital relationships with their wives especially in the area of sex. This is the gist: Initially, both couples shared the same bed, the twins sleeping in the middle of both women; that is, each of the wives sleeps on the other side beside her husband. But when their wives could no longer withstand sleeping together with them, they got two houses: one for Chang’s wife, and the other for Eng’s wife. Then, the twins decided to alternate on weekly basis, each making love with his respective wife at his own turn.
Unfortunately, in some climes, Chang’s and Eng’s physical challenges would have reduced them into pitiable road-side-beggars. But they turned their natural deformity into showmanship and created a path to fortune.
The major lesson:
Nobody should just sit down, mourning and bemoaning the day of his birth, thinking his predicament is as a result of his birth, upbringing, generational curse or evil spirit. There can always be a way to make a living and become successful by turning disabilities into abilities. If Chang and Eng made it, despite their disabilities, then, wake up! You too can still make it! You can! You can still do that thing! You can even do it now! Get inspired now! Get motivated now!
Ben Carson, a prolific writer and accomplished neurosurgeon said “A victim walking through sand looks down and sees dirt, but a victor sees the ingredients for building a castle.”
In year 2014, one hundred and forty years after the death of their original thoracopagus twin-parents, Chang and Eng Bunker, some of their descendants gathered together for a family reunio
