Grandpa & grandma with Siew Key & (?)
The early days in the lives of Grandpa & Grandma are little known to me. But I am curious to know more. Perhaps, I should talk to my uncles Kwong Teck (in Australia) & Wong Soong (in HongKong/China). And I would.
Grandpa was the only adopted son of Ah Tai and was named Chai Tham Jin (not too sure of the spelling). He was a man of few words -- a rather gentle and amiable guy. I heard that Great-grandfather (Tai Gong) who himself had 3 wives, once suggested that grandpa get a concubine or second wife (very common during those times). Grandpa was quick to say no to him, citing that he'd rather stay out of the women trouble Tai Gong had (with his 3 wives) ... That was wise of Ah Gong.
Like Ah Tai, Ah Gong made Tofu for a living and probably sold it at Ah Tai's stall at the Pusing market. I wasn't sure if he kept his own stall in Batu Gajah. My only recollection of Ah Gong going to work was that he rode on a high bicycle carrying some stuff at the back.
Ah Gong was sickly but he always suffered in silence. Once, he came to stay over at our house and he rested on the canvas bed for a good part of the day. I must be about 10 at that time and very mischievous. When Ah Gong got out of the canvas bed, I quietly removed its support. So when Ah Gong returned to sleep on the bed, the canvas slipped and he fell to the ground. Instead of getting angry, Ah Gong just looked around for the missing support, replaced it and continued as though nothing had happened. I was amused at my own little prank but also amazed at Ah Gong's inaction.
But something happened that evening that shocked me. We were awoken in the middle of the night and I saw Ah Gong vomitting blood-- a big pool of dark brownish blood was on the floor with much more splattered on the wall. A stench of stale blood pervade the air and Ah Gong was crouching on the floor. Pa called an ambulance and Ah Gong stayed in hospital for a few days after that. Imagine the remorse I felt, thinking that I was the one who'd caused Ah Gong's illness. I found out later that Ah Gong suffered from ulcers in his stomach.
In his quiet ways, Ah Gong showed his love to us. I don't remember him hugging any of us. The Chinese at the time did not display affection openly. But he did little things for us that demonstrated he cared.
As a child, my school bag was a rattan basket. Once the handle broke, Ah Gong used a piece of steel wire and inserted it to make a new handle. He then carefully weaved the rattan back so that it looked just as it was before. That school bag lasted the whole lifetime of my school-going years...
After my O-Levels, I wanted to look for a temporary job to earn some money for College. Ah Gong, who was living in Kuala Lumpur with uncle Kwong Teck at the time, drove me to the job interview and waited patiently for it to be over. I got a job as a salesgirl in the SEA Park emporium and Ah Gong was happy for me.
And when I started working and had to take a bus to work, I had to cross a roundabout to the bus-stop on the the other side of the road. To make it convenient for me, Ah Gong found a piece of plank and secured it over the drain so that I could cross it safely. After that, I saw many people crossing the roundabout using Ah Gong's wooden bridge...
These were some of my fondest memories of Ah Gong--my kind and gentle grandpa, always willing to lend a helping hand in the most unassuming ways.
1 comment:
Yes, he's a humble but very nice person. I recall the time when he was hospitalised in University Hospital before his death--the doctors cut a hole in his throat and put a tube in. He was struggling to get rid of it--it must be very uncomfortable. Poor Ah Gong!
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