....and there's nothing like a mother's love.

I was just 7 years old in 1961.

My first day at Hutchings’ School was very exciting. Mum walked me from Toh Aka Lane, and along the way in Pitt Street showed me into Kapitan Kling Mosque. “Pray for the wellness of your new Malay friends,” she said. ...and I did.

Then we stopped at Mariamman Temple. “You’ll have Indian friends in school. Mix well with them, you’re as dark as them. Pray your classmates can differentiate you from them,” she teased, then laughed. ...and I did, I prayed.

The next stop was the Goddess of Mercy temple. We spent a bit of time there. I was introduced to the Goddess of Mercy, Kuan Yin. “She’s most important, most forgiving” said mum.

I was quickly ushered to Confucius’s altar. “Don't stand! ...kneel down and pray; Confucius looks after all pupils who want and like to study. He will teach you to be obedient and respectful to elders and leaders; and diligent at your studies.” My, oh my!

...and in no time, “There’s Kuan Kong, a great Warrior God and Pao Kong the Chief Justice. If you study hard, you can become a 'law-ya' like him.”

Then I’m introduced to ChiK Kong ...and all the other gods in the temple.

That was my first insight on JDs.... I began to understand the job description of each ang-kong (god). It was as if I was on a guided tour, and I learned much in that short 20 minutes that ended with a cup of tea.

“Wash the cup there and turn it upside down in the tray.” Hundreds of other temple-goers share the same cups daily. No qualms....

Surprisingly, mum took me to the Assumption Church which was next to my school. However, we just stood there to admire the building. “Let’s go, your pa won’t like this.” I don’t know why.

Soon I was in school and the registration confirmation begun. I was in Standard 1 Red. Mum said bye-bye and left. Other parents remained. Their kids were wailing! ...some looked so sad! But I was ready. I was ready for school, I have Confucius behind me. Mum was a great motivator!

In the 6 years when I was in Primary school, I never failed to repeat the routine mum taught me. Besides all the learnings in school, mum taught me much. She taught me many, many things - so philosophically.

She taught me about RELIGION, for besides that inductive guided tour, she had a famous line - “You better pray that you get good exam results or you’ll get it.”

Get what? If by praying I can pass examinations, then exams are easy!

“Where’s my cane?” ....Mum taught me how to ASK THE RIGHT QUESTION. ...and normally the answer will not come.

She also taught me LOGIC.... “Because I said so, that’s why.”

 ...and MORE LOGIC, “If you fall out of that chair and break your back, you’re not going to the “chai-tiamah” (sundry shop) with me.” Well of course, bed is the only place to go if anyone breaks his back.
Mum also taught me IRONY, “Keep crying, go on keep crying - and I’ll give you something to cry about.”

...and she was such a great scientist when she taught me REVERSE OSMOSIS, “Shut your mouth and eat your lunch!”  ....How to eat with your mouth shut?

She’d then warn me about THE DANGERS OF TALKING BACK at parents, “I brought you into this world, and I can take you out!” Wow!

Ironically, she also taught me something I never picked up.

EXAGGERATION... “How many times must I tell you? If I told you once, I’ve already told you a thousand times!”

...and I dunno why she’d sometimes say, “Stop acting like your father!” when she’s into BEHAVIOUR MODELLING.

“Well ma, you should tell Pa not to lead by that example.”

“Just wait till he comes home! Then you tell your Pa this!” She was teaching me how to EXPRESS TO THE CORRECT PERSON and about men having GUTS & BALLS. It was a challenge.

“So, just shut your mouth and eat your lunch.... There are millions of Africans and Chinese who don’t have rice to eat like you do,” as she progressed to preach lessons on ENVY.

“Chiak-lah! If you don’t finish your lunch, you are going to get it when your father comes home," she was explaining the concept of RECEIVING. Wow! I better finish my lunch....

But I still laughed, and mum got mad. “One day you’ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!”

That was a lesson on JUSTICE.

                                      Gawd!... I just love my mum and her 1- 2-liners! RIP, mum.

....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.