How time flies. My used-to-be-very-small nephews and niece have all outgrown me. As my younger brother would lament, “If they were to ask us to form a line, both you and I would be the shortest ones! ” ( A consolation though, we would also be the slimmest! ) Not only they out do us in sizes, but they are all so grown up now.
Along, the eldest, is currently pursuing his Dentistry programme at my Alma Matter. Dek Wan has just completed his SPM and wowed everyone with his perfect As accomplishment, making everyone’s previous SPM results seem mediocre. My used-to-be partner-in-crime, Lala, has gone to a boarding school far, far away in Gopeng, leaving her Barbie Dolls collection at home. Now, the only one left at home would be Ami – and he’s only three, too young to form any alliance with his weary but good looking auntie ;o) or run after chickens during a Hari Raya celebration like Along used to do!
It’s amazing how much we could learn from our younger generation, actually. Though older and wiser, I learnt a lot from both Badin and Kak Long’s kids, in particular, Along. Pursuing my degree programme at the oldest university in
When Along was born, everyone couldn’t help but to pamper him. He was after all, the first grandchild with both of his parents being the oldest children in their respective families. As young as the age of four or five, his love for reading enabled him to use Malay idioms in daily conversations that caused our jaws to drop! Imagine listening to a young boy saying, “ Along ni seperti Belanda mendapat tanah pulak…” When we asked him what made him uttered the line, he justified himself by saying, “ Ye lah. Mak Lang dah bagi mainan, Along nak mintak yang lain pulak! ” My salute went for him. I was ( and still am ) impressed with my own nephew! Sometimes, when he was bored with reading, he would challenge his mom for berpantun which among the lines that would send us bursting into laughters would be “ Kalau cik adik orang yang pandai… ” Anyway, this was not really surprising since Kak Long is a strict Bahasa Melayu teacher! Along’s love for readings encouraged the others to read too – well, after all, we had to tell him bed-time stories back then!!!
Along has also shown his diplomatic and ‘ world peace’ traits ever since he was young. I remember searching high and low for him during a Hari Raya, only to find him at the back of our kampong house, apologizing to a mother hen, over and over again. When asked for such behaviour, he claimed that he was fairly responsible in causing the death of one of the chickens. ( Being a city boy, he was amazed by the small chickens and ran after them. In doing so, a chick must have tripped and died. ) Animals, deserve to be treated like humans too. When you do them wrong, the least that you can do is apologize and admit your mistake.
There was a time when my brother and his family paid me a visit. ( I was staying in the campus at that time ). As his daily exposure and encounter with people would be with his parents as well as his nanny, Along was definitely amazed with the idea of being surrounded by so many people from different races, too. As we were walking to my brother’s car, he couldn’t help but to notice a group of Indian students walking behind us. Trying to strike a conversation with them, he said “ Eh, Keling ”. I quickly turned and corrected him, “ Not Keling but
At another incident, Along was the one who showed me that human beings – regardless of what you do and how much do you earn – deserve respect. After a long shopping day at Jalan TAR and as our car was waiting for the light to turn green, he spotted ( we all did, actually ) a DBKL sweeper standing by the road side, holding his broomstick. It was Along who started a conversation ( from inside the car ), “ Pakcik, Pakcik tengah buat apa tu? ” to which the sweeper answered, “ Tengah sapu jalan, nak. Macam ni lah kalau orang tak sekolah! ” At that time, I was so ashamed with my own self for thinking and acting that I’m better than the others, but I couldn’t help but to feel proud of him.
Sometimes, injustices happen to us. When they do happen, sometimes, we react accordingly. Sometimes, we just keep quiet… and hope that the whole thing will soon pass. Along proved otherwise. There was a time when Along was punished for getting into fight with Dek Wan. ( Normally, it would be Along who started the fights ) After being punished, only then his mother demanded what had actually happened. In between sobs, Along accused his mother of being unfair; asking for the explanation only AFTER giving him the sentence! He compared his case to one very famous murder case of a politician who was cut into 18 pieces by the murderer, citing “ Is it possible to ask the dead on what had actually happen? ” Kids, you just can’t beat them.
Of course there were instances where Along was merely Along – a small boy who acted his age, like the time when he wanted us to buy him ice cream and claimed ( in a voice loud enough to be heard by the other shoppers and they, in return, gave us angry stares ), “ Along tak pernah makan ice cream…” ( In reality, he had eaten enough ice cream to fit an army ). During his first cinema trip with the rest of us, we couldn’t help but grinned when suddenly a loud question traveled across the isle “ Mak Lang, mana Mak Lang? ” just as the lights were turned off. Of course, we thanked our lucky stars that he was soon engrossed in the movie instead of crying for his auntie and the rest of us.
( Along – this entry goes out to you. From Mak Lang with love. )
No comments:
Post a Comment