Oh my father, father...

This Sunday is Father's Day and what a wondrous occasion to talk about my dad.

Yup. That's my dad. The one on the right. The lil'boy is my youngest brother, John. This picture was taken thirteen years ago during our trip to Melaka. I was the one behind the lens ;-)

I won't say much because even though he is imperfect like all dads are, he is awesome. 

Happy Father's Day, Pa!

I would also bring into this post the patriachs of my family i.e. the late Mr Philip Juin and the late Mr Tulas Tangkuhong. Although no longer with us, I miss my two grandpas. Both are equally awesome. My grandpas are walking pieces of history when they were still alive.

For instance, my dad's dad (Philip) was a musician. Well, he didn't play music as a career though. He played the saxophone and the piano. When we balik kampung, he would greet us with the biggest smile and he would swoop me and my eldest brother and seat us on his lap. Then he would tickle both of us and then play with us. At lunch or dinner, he would give all his grandchildren a very generous serving of rice and would reprimand us if we didn't finish it. One of my memories with him was at every Chinese New Year, all of us his grandchildren would line up and kiss him on both cheeks before we receive our angpows. He would reciprocate by kissing us on the forehead and hugged us tightly. He died when I was just 7 years old.

My mum's dad (Tulas) was a CID with the police department. He was a visionary because when almost everyone in Melalap would stop sending their children to school when they reached puberty, he kept on sending my mum and her siblings to school. His actions may have caused his family to be scattered all over the place but he always believed in the importance of education. I remember, when we were young, if he visits or we visit him, he would always give us snacks from his tuckshop. He likes to keep journals as well. He even brought us out for a ride on his old motorbike. If we stayed at kampung, he would tell us stories about his experience during the war, ghosts, and many others. He would also rotan us whenever we crossed the lines and we would run around the house, trying to escape...hehehe....He died of old age in 2004.

In retro, I am what I am because of these three legendary men.

Happy Father's (and Grandfathers') Day, you three.