There he was at his usual spot with 2 of his friends. They looked about my father's age, late sixties to mid seventies. I called out to my pa and greeted his friends, uncles in the Sinagporean fashion. In Singapore, any person older than yourself is usually termed as uncle or auntie out of respect for their seniority.
I sat down beside my pa and ordered my breakfast. While I was midway through the meal, my real paternal uncle, 小叔, passed by. Called out to him and he joined us at our table.
They started swapping stories about who used to make the best soy bean drink, the best carrot cakes, best fishballs in the past. Unlike these days where most food material came from factories. My pa even remarked that these days even the fishballs are the same size and weight in contrast to the good old days when they were made by hand, lots of texture and flavour despite the irregular sizes and weight.
They also talked about our government and PAP, how years were good during the 70s and 80s. Everyone could make a comfortable living as long as they worked hard. Shared their opinions and of course, not without a few gripes of their own.
Suddenly I had this feeling that I was a teenager all over again, surrounded by real adult men. It was a good warm feeling on a rainy day. These guys were the heroes of the past. They grew and toiled during our early nation building years, having little or no material comforts.
They are who in my eyes un-breakable in spirit and willpower despite all the hardships they been through even if the weight of years and hard work causes their backs to bend a little, their eyes a little dimmer today. They are the real deal, Pionner Generation. It was my honour to breakfast with them.
No comments:
Post a Comment