Celebrations.....the good ol' days.

In the next few days, our beloved nation would be celebrating her 51st anniversary of independence. Walking down memory lane, I remembered that mom & dad would wake us up early and made sure everyone stayed glued on the b&w tv [ later on , it went color. - Yah! after a few slams and thumping on! Came to know later that the color tube was having some problems! ] watching the National Day Parade. It was the thing at that time - the passion & joy for the country. Nowadays, it's just another event. What a shame!
I remembered too that I had plenty of friends from the different races and we really got along fine. Mom & Dad used to remind us , the children, that we are to be nice to our friends from different races, to greet their parents and even to humble ourselves to whoever who were older than us. That's the values I grew up with. Still treasure them very much in my heart.

Then, there would be celebrations such as Hari Raya, Deepavali, Chinese New Year and Christmas ~ you can be sure that my bunch of friends would be there to celebrate the celebrations together. Friends like Amran, Ghani, Ghana, Chua SS, Ong, Peter, Philip Thomas and many others made my childhood days to be sweeter than ever.

I had the best memories of all celebrating Christmas with Philip's family. Though they were quite a large family and life was difficult for them, I remembered Uncle Thomas, the gardener/nightwatchman and Auntie Mary hands of love upon my life. The meals I had and the gifts I had showed me the real meaning of Christ's love. This family were staying at the quarters prepared by a school beside a huge graveyard land. Honestly, I used to be afraid whenever I was at their home until one day,Uncle Thomas told me this which stuck in my head like forever, he said, " Now, now, my boy. Don't be afraid of the dead. They can do nothing to you. It's the living that you have to be afraid of. Anyway, God is with us. Don't be afraid of anything, ok?"

I've learnt a lot about lessons on life in my growing up years and I have plenty of people to thank for. Though some had gone for higher services up there, there are still plenty of good people around. No matter what, the friendship fabric is not woven over a day but over a long period of time and it takes a lot of understanding, experience and lessons to make it strong and binding. The heart and the mind must be right. That's what friendship is all about. Tolerance, respect and care ~ That's what Mom & Dad taught me! It is embedded in my heart and mind all ways & always!

Happy Merdeka, Malaysia! Gotta do my patriotic duty-mah!