THE GROWING UP YEARS

There are six of us (2 boys and four girls) and I am the eldest. The odd thing was I was the only one sent to study in an English medium school while the other siblings went to Chinese medium schools.

            In the primary school days I learnt a lot of nursery rhymes and children songs and heard a lot of stories from the teachers then. I learnt songs like Old McDonald, Row your boat, Sing a song of six pence, Mary had a little lamb and others. Of course they were part of the nursery rhymes.

            In those days the teachers were great because they had to teach, mould us, scold us, guide us and on top of that they were great story tellers and singers too.

            At home, dinner was simple and delicious yet nutritious. As we grew up, we took on chores like cleaning the house, clean the backyard, chopping firewood and dying them, feed the chicken, and even clean the chicken coop. We had to prepare rice so that my mother could have time to prepare the dishes and dinner would be ready in a jiffy.

            Every night we had dinner together; my grandparents, parents and the six of us. There was a great feeling of togetherness and laughter was part of it tool. We shared jokes and tales from parents about the farm and happenings from school.

            After dinner, we would gather in the small living room cum dining hall. We would listen to stories told by my grandmother and mother. They had so many tales to tell especially about the hardship and life in China. Incidentally, my grandparents and my father were from China. My father still has a brother and a sister there. Their stories really touched our hearts; especially the hard life as farmers. They slogged from dawn till dusk to get enough food for the table.

            Due to the desperation and the exodus of people to Malaya, my grandparents brought my dad, their eldest and youngest daughters here in the hope that they would earn enough for the folks back in China.

            There was one particular night when we gathered in the living room. My father had gone out as usual to meet his friends in town. My mum, grandma and the rest of us gathered and chatted. It was a Friday night so we could stay up late as we did not have to go to school the next day.

            As the eldest among the siblings, I had more experience especially about school. So to add some laugher and entertainment, I borrow an old towel and wrapped it around my waist. I sang the song ‘Old McDonald’ and walked slowly towards the front door. At the same time, I imitated the sounds of animals in the song; cockerel, cow, goat, pig and ducks. As I approached the front door, I purposely let loose and dropped the towel. Of course I had my shorts on. My sisters and brother laughed and howled aloud at my antic.  My mum and grandma also clapped and laughed . the roar was loud and I bet my neighbours would be wondering what the commotion was about.

            I repeated the action and each time I created a din. I knew that I had the knack to entertain others.