Father's Day.

20.6.2010.

All week I'd been reminded by the TV programmes about Father's Day. It seems none of my offsprings even know about it. After the last khutbah Juma'at and a number of internet postings I guess I can count my own blessings that I have not failed to appreciate my parents' sacrifices to us in their uneventful lives.

The spate of wedding receptions I had to attend this school break only makes me more aware of the unending attention and expenditure that parents spend on their children. And often it does not end there. The cycle continues with the grandchildren. But my wife and I have decided that our resposibility ends with our own four children, that they have to look out for their own children in turn. We'll always love our grandchildren - even now we miss them when weeks go by without seeing them. But we draw the line at bringing them up.

In my time, I always made it a point to visit our kampong house regularly, and always did so for all the major festivities. The loss of our father so soon after his retirement deprived two of my children of ever knowing him. I privately hope that I live long enough to at least know all my grandchildren.

Meanwhile the two of us have resigned to the fact that our two married boys are now too busy with their own lives to pay much attention to us. It remains to be seen if the two remaining children would behave differently once they,too, get married. 

We have given our four kids everything they needed in terms of the love and affection, and the education and upbringing in the measure we thought was sufficient. I only hope they in due course, as they now go through life with their own children, would eventually appreciate us.

For now we have to be content that all of them never suffered the  worldly wants that I had when I was their age, and that all of them are set with their own careers that should take care of their basic worldly needs for the rest of their lives. Accepting this fact has been my little Father's Day gift this year. 

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Rock Foundation.

19.6.2010.

Only A K Bear and Hank know who "Rock Foundation" is, especially Bear because he was the one who gave Halim Shah this moniker. This afternoon, Saturday 19th. June, 2010, we were mostly all there - at Rock Foundation's daughter's wedding at the appropriately named Merak Kayangan Hall.

I was the last to come to my table - Zawawi, Bull, Jaye and their spouses were already there. At the next table were A K Bear, Jerry, Sha and partners. At the other table I spotted and waved to Rahman and Rosli, and then there was Mat Nor Gear, Harun Siraj and Aziz Hassan (the Lt. General). Gnanalingam(the Maika saviour) also came to my table, looking strangely bent at the neck. He said he feels no pain and only bystanders use to point his condition out. 

Gnana was with us - Suki and Hashim Bulat and Acan, at TMS until 1960 when he, Suki, Wahab Acin and I went to RMC. I reminded him that he sent RM 500 cash by normal post in lieu of attending my second son's wedding about 5 years ago. 

I must congratulate Rock Foundation for his reception - classy yet simple and not at all over-elaborate. This sit down affair is rare at Malay weddings today. Usually it's the lengthy and messy buffet lunch and not knowing where the bride and groom are, and frequently ignoring them, in fact. Here we all watched the lovely couple announced on arrival, salutations given, and with the usual pantuns, but all cut short and sweet, and then everbody invited to partake the sumptous lunch, washed down with tapai & icecream.

I had to leave for another appointment at 2, as also A K Bear and a few others. But up to that point Halim's khenduri was a success. Congratulations ! 

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