....and behind every grandmother story is history

It was turbulent times when I was growing up in the 60’s in heritage Chinatown, Penang.

Not that I was a pain in the neck for mum & dad, but the world was changing – it was getting a new face, a new shape of things to come.

Twiggy, the world's top model - She introduced Anorexia to the girls in the 60's

The Korean War unofficially ended, but a new war, the Vietnam War was escalating. ...and the feared “Domino Theory” was very much alive.

At the same time, war was on in the Sinai, and political middle-east loggerheads Moshe Dayan, Golda Meir & Yasser Arafat et al were fighting it out ...and they still are 50 years on, 6 feet under. *sigh.....

And there is the Cold War between USA & the USSR.

...and Mao Zedong was deeply engrossed in his Chinese People Republic's Cultural Revolution; and his citizenry - the Little Red Book - a new religion!

Man, what a highly hung-up, strung-up, mixed-up crazy world at that time!

US President John F. Kennedy got assassinated. And his brother Robert suffered the same fate.

Anti-war protests were everywhere, in that decade called the “swinging-sixties”! Can you imagine that?

Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali and he "floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee" to become the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion of the world. Everybody loves him! His boxing matches provided an avenue for escapism from reality.

Many escaped permanently...kekeke! They died of “heart attacks” while watching him fight his opponents in live telecasts! Too bad.

Martin Luther King, Malcolm X...they all died too, all shot dead!

“Black Power” became prominent. In the '68 Mexico Olympics, the Black Power symbol was shown to the world on national TV.

...and Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon with his giant step for mankind,  debunked Chinese beliefs about a pretty fairy and her rabbits living on the moon. She was not there when he landed. Neither were any rabbits around.

Perhaps, it was summertime (20th July 1969) when they landed, yup! on my birthdate!... not in mid-autumn.

In the music world, The Beatles and the British (music) Invasion couldn’t be stopped.... not even by Paul Revere this time!

 ...and even Elvis had to take a breather at the end of the 60’s.

Hippiedom came into existence, and new “in”-words like “psychedelic”, “groovy”, “way-out, far-out” “dig”, “pot”, “cool” became common lingo worldwide.

The word “Peace” and its V-sign (show me your 2 fingers, huh!) found their universal meaning through the hippies, John & Yoko included.

The young rebelled, anti-establishment was status quo – and it was a healthy and "groovy" trend to drop out of college or university to live in a farm or commune and get “stoned” day in, day out.

Just let your hair down.

Go concerts – Woodstock '69 @ Yasgur’s Farm, a fine example.  (How can I forget Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and so many other music legends!)

Five hundred thousand music loving, hip and “angels” were there. Man, it was cool enough for me to be able to watch it on the movie screen halfway across the globe on the silver screen, 6 months later.

“Free Love”, “Make Love Not War” were slogans not just chanted but openly practiised! No big deal.

Man, those were the days. Those were the good old days!

But it was a night-mare for parents.... especially my parents’ with 6 kids in tow.

So you see, it was tough raising kids those days with all kinds of ideology and mind boggling politically hot potatoes – you never know when your kid’s gonna “get high” on weed or tell his mum that robbing a bank is OK because Patricia Hearst did.

Or he "dig" Charles Manson, the "mother" of all crazy cult leaders.

....and racism (and perceived race supremacy) was at its height.

The KKK (Ku Klux Klan) flourished...

 

   

...and the apartheid in Rhodesia then, South Africa now, (and to football fans, WaKa-wAka Land,) and jailed Nelson Mandela.

Glad it's all over today!

...and closer to home the May 13, 1969 racial riots.

Don't forget that. No repeat, please!

...and in Bolivia, South America, politician-author-physician-revolutionist-guerilla leader Ernesto 'Che' Guevara was captured and executed with 8 bullets into his body and throat, ughh!....no thanks to traitors.

Yea, ...it was turbulent times - I can just go on and on. Those were just a little sampling of the new face the world is changing to - and they are not grandmother's stories, but history.

So to keep us on track, my mum & dad had a terrible time to keep me & my siblings sane with many, many unforgettable one- or two-liners!

My dad is a peace-loving guy, doesn’t whack his kids – only gave good advices like this one.... “Always stand up for yourself, do what is right but I can't tell you what is right. You have to decide." 

The onus was on me, I had to do the right things at the right time! ...kekeke, fortunately I decided rightly enough most of the time not to become a rightist! Lucky me.

My mum hits hard...especially with the cane. She’s quite different from dad, but she is also very philosophical like when she teaches me about humility.... “Don't look down on others, never mind if they look down on you." She believes in karma.

But there are also many other lines; some very, very funny and witty 60’s lines. You'll get to know what they are..... soon.