"Sudah Balik Tongsan !"


Days ago my friend text messaged  me to ask whether my eldest brother  is still doing sheet-metal work as he could find nobody in town to custom made a metal box.
My reply to his message was in a simple Malay, " sudah balik tongsan!".
My friend immediately understood what I meant; my eldest brother had already departed from this world.

"Balik tongsan" is a Malay vocabulary I had learned while I was still a kid.
At that time there was an Indian Muslim shop attendant staying next door to my Nibong Tebal house. Every two or three years he would go back to India to visit his family members. Before he went back to his ancestral land he would make known to everybody in the neighbourhood that " Saya mau balik tongsan!" ( tongsan [唐山] is a Chinese vocabulary carrying the meaning of 'ancestral land'.

Later it was adopted by other races in their everyday usage.)
In the past, 'balik tongsan' was used with good intention as it is a virtue to go back to ancestral land to visit one's family members and relatives. It's also a 'better pronoun' to tell others that " so-and-so has died".
Unfortunately, nowadays 'balik tongsan' is used with a  bad intention of "halau orang keluar negeri" ( to chase people out of the country).

Those who demanded others to 'balik tongsan' they themselves would have to do likewise once their time is up in this world. This is Tao(道) which they might be "tak tahu" and they should have taken a few lessons to learn from the grandmaster Lao Tze(老子).

天空中的云
♡♧♢♥♣♦

古人说：
“世事如云，变幻多。”
的确是如此。

天～
本来是一片蓝色的。
可是，
因云的出现，
天没有一时半刻，
是一成不变的。
云的变化，
着实令天跟随着它变化。
不变的天，
配合了，
善变的云，
就呈现出，
不一样的天色，
诗一般的美景，
梦一般的仙境。

小六那一年

六年级是我们在小学最后一个学年。
在学年开始的时候同学们还没有丝毫的感觉到年终时大家都会劳燕分飞的那种悲情。我们当时模仿李白的那股诗仙喝酒的豪情，来个‘今朝有玩今朝玩。’

我也不晓得为何那个时候我们班上的男生们会兴起踢藤球这玩意。或许是因为藤球经济耐用，一粒球可以多人一起玩。

每天早上一到学校就在课室外的走廊围起圆圈来踢藤球。休息节时我们也会充分利用那段时间来踢藤球。我在想那些国家藤球选手集训备战奥运会可能也没有我们当时那么卖力训练。因此，我们上课的时候我们的校服总是湿透的。
我们小六的教室当时被安排在前英国人园丘医院诊疗所改造的课室上课，所以它的长度大约是一般的教室的双倍。

我的身材矮小，被安排在右方第一行第三个位置坐。后来不知何故(自己不便说明)，“被奸人所害，流放边疆”，被班级老师，王进昌副校长，将我调到第一行最后一个位置坐，好让我有机会自我反省。
我却佔着”天高皇帝远”的优势，和坐在我身旁的许子坚同学，来个口头上的协议：华文默写考试彼此可以偷抄书本不要让他人知晓。所以每次默写考试我们不用读书也会‘出师告捷’，絲毫不必費心费力去背诵课书。
我们小六那年除了要应付学校考试外，年底还要考‘入中学的政府考试’( Secondary School Entrance Examination)，简称会考。这个会考科目包括：华、巫、英语言科，算术和智力测验。
因此，我们下午都会回去学校补课来应付小学会考。每次补课完毕后，我们没有直接回家。我们会去小溪游泳或从事其他球类活动。
在会考还没有来临前，学校本身会先给学生们一个学校预试(通称为校考)。

小六那一年，我学校全年考试成绩排名第九。而校考成绩我这只黑马则很侥幸的得到第一名，让我六年的小学生涯中首次上台领奖。

晒黑肤色充顯贵
^*^*^***^^**^**

以前彦语有句名言：“打肿脸皮充胖子。”
现在有个相等的句子是“晒黑肤色充顯贵。”

此话不是无的放矢。它是有所根据的。

记得有一回我们去拜访一位从美国回来的亲戚。间中他谈起外国人如何度过夏日假期。有钱有闲的人出外旅游，回来的时候每个人都晒得黑黑的。那些没钱没闲的人只好呆在家里‘渡假’。所以他们的肤色是白的。

因此皮肤的颜色对一个外国白人是一个身份的象征；皮肤黑色是有钱有闲而白色则是无钱无闲。

所以 “晒黑肤色充顯贵。”是指那些没钱出去旅游的白人也会尽量趁夏日假期那段时间把皮肤晒黑来制造一种假象，让人以为他们是有钱有闲的人。

或许那些来马旅游的外国人喜欢在烈日下晒太阳是否也是为了达到皮肤晒黑的缘故那就不得而知了。

米的学问
*^*^*^*^

小时候我跟随长兄去霹雳州角头工作。午间我们到一间饭档吃饭。档贩端给我一碗香喷喷的白饭。这是我生平至今数十年来吃到唯一最好吃的缅甸香米饭。这种饭很香，香到不用配料也可以狼吞虎咽吃掉它。有可能我当时吃了两大碗的饭。

往后有时常听他人说现在的香米是经过香精加工制作的。
今早我们去一家米店买米，我针对上述香米衡生出来的问题向店家老板讨教。

老板说其实香米刚收成的时候它的味道是很香的。囤积数月后的香米没有什么味道了。可是刚收成的香米拿去煮饭会变成很烂。所以老板还是鼓励我们买收成数月后的香米比较好。

至于缅甸的香米这里早就不能进口了。

中国人历代以来都是习惯吃米饭的。有米饭吃才有‘生气’，才会有气力。君不见‘气’的繁体字下面有个‘米’字。可见这是我们老祖宗有先见之明。中医大致上也认同这观点。

现今有一些人鼓吹不吃米饭。他们的立足点是米饭的澱粉质(carbohydrate) 会增加人体吸收过量的糖份导致糖尿病的产生。

总之，米饭是要吃的，要吃得適量。不可暴饮暴食，这才是中道啊!

雾里看花
*********

旧识相聚，
我本期待着，
有明月高掛池塘上，
水清物必明了。

谁知道，
事与愿违，
我似乎置身于雾里，
看着朵朵白花，
花非花，雾非雾。
雾似花，花似雾。
难分难解，
那是花，还是雾?

Love at heart
疼爱在心里
©®™™®®™™

I remember, as a kid, once I ran home crying to complain to my mother that I was beaten by a bully at the neighbourhood.
小时候，有一回我在外面被人欺负哭着跑回来向母亲投诉。

She replied coolly, " You're naughty to deserve the beating. Why didn't he come to beat me?"
母亲冷漠地回应我：“就是你坏蛋，人家才会打你。为什么人家不来打我？”

I was very upset then as my mum put a full stop bluntly at my earnest complaint.
我感到很委屈。明明我被人欺负还说我坏蛋。我很认真的投诉被我母亲当作耳边风，不当一回事。

Now I  come to think of it.
 She was rather wise then  not to involve herself  in a trivial quarrel of kids.
现在回想起来，母亲当年的作法是很有智慧的。她不要卷入小孩子们的无谓的争执。

Unlike the present day incident in which an obvious mobile phone  theft whereby a thief could get  the free service of a lawyer who wore 'a tinted glass'.
不像最近发生的手机事件。一个被逮着的偷手机的年轻人还可以轻易地获得人们的庇护，提供免费的法律援助。

Although my mother was an illiterate of the yesteryear, she could handle a dispute far better than an educated professional of the present day.
虽然我母亲是上世纪的文盲，可是她处理事情反而比当今受高等教育的专业人士更加成熟，更加稳重。

She once told me, " A child is to be loved and adored at heart but not to be shown outwardly. "
她曾经对我说：“孩子是疼爱在心里的，不需要表露出来的。”

Departure of My  Mother

My dear mother,
Your departure from this world had implanted deep in my heart the grief and hollowness.

As I think back of the yesteryear,the year when I was about thirty years old, I always remember you, my dear mother. At that  time I had already fathered a child. But then, as a mother,  you still treated me like a child you adored most.

Every afternoon when I visited you, you  would personally prepare coffee and slice fruits for my consumption. You would then sit beside me listening attentively like a  Catholic Father listening to the confession of his church member.

Sometimes, I would pour out my grievances to you and you would listen patiently and attentively like a sponge absorbing water without bias or discrimination. I felt better after having done so although you did nothing other than sole listening.

Mother,
You always advised me to be tolerant and to be accommodative to others, so that I would sail through life smoothly.

Mother, your sudden demise was a shock and a blow to me. It was like a pill bitter to swallow.

I was like a kite flying in the sky with its string detached.

I was also like a canoe sailing in the rough sea without direction.

Mother,
All of a sudden, I found it hard to adapt to my daily life with your sudden departure from this mundane world.

However, I needed to stand on my own footing to face the world in your absence.

Hope you would guide me spiritually from atop, like the stars of Big Dippers guiding the ocean liners sailing in the rough seas to reach their destinations.

母亲的离去
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

母亲，
您的离去，
令我失落，
令我傷感。

想当年，
我年近三旬，
已初为人父，
但您始终还当我是您的身边的小孩。
每天午后放学去见您，
您还亲力亲为，
不假手于他人，
冲加啡、切水果来款待我。
之后，您会坐在我身旁，
犹如天主教的神父般，
静静倾听信徒的细述。

有时，
我把我的心中的不满，
一一向您倾诉。
您会如海绵般地不断吸水，
耐心地让我肚子里的怨气，
得到適当的疏解。

母亲啊，母亲，
您也时常会劝解我，
退一步，海阔天空。

母亲，
您的离去，
顿时让我觉得，
我是～
一只断了线的风筝，
一只怒海中的孤舟，
失去了依靠，
失去了倾诉的对象。

母亲啊，母亲，
您的辞世，
虽然我一时无从適应，
毕竟我自己要自立自强，
面对和解决一切问题。

愿您在天之灵，
给予我庇佑，
犹如天边的北斗星，
引导海上航行的船只，
成功到达目的地。

龙虾炒饭

日前听一位餐馆经理讲了龙虾炒饭的典故。

有一个食客叫了一盘龙虾炒饭。厨师很体贴，将龙虾去壳，把虾肉切成粒状，炒出一盘炒饭。
结帐时，这一盘炒饭叫价数百块钱。与会的朋友们都认为贵到离谱，觉得东道主被砍菜头，替他不值。
餐馆经理说如果厨师换另一个方式来呈现龙虾炒饭就会另当别论。
厨师如果能够在盘上炒饭再加龙虾头和龙虾尾的壳一起摆上，这等于画龙点睛，身价倍增。这样的呈现(Presentation)让食客看见了就不会嫌它贵了。

龙虾贵在于它的完整性的呈现。
其实人的完整性也是如此。
人是灵魂和身体的结合体。
人没有灵魂它只是一副屍体。
人没有身体不算是一个人(鬼或灵界众生)。

小四那一年

我小学四年级那年的级任老师是黄耀老师。他教我们华语和音乐。我对老师教音乐的点点滴滴比较有印象。令我感到奇怪的是黄老师在那年代如何能够懂得弹钢琴？难道他出自名门望族吗？

他教音乐课的时候，同学们会围着他听他一首一首得弹琴，大家一首一首得跟着唱。有时老师弹琴弹很入神时，我仿佛看到他闭着眼睛陶醉在他自己的音乐里。我们男生在他背后从事自己的活动。

记得有一回上音乐课时，黄老师给我们音乐考试。每几个学生必须轮流唱一首歌曲，由老师钢琴伴奏评分。每个人唱歌都不能拿满分；我只能拿六十分而已。唯一例外能够拿一百分的是许文声同学。我们根本想不通为何许同学唱歌纯粹靠呐喊到他的颈项的筋都浮起来了也能够拿满分。就算周华健、张学友年青时候学音乐也不见得他们的老师会给他们满分。后来才知晓个中原由。原来黄老师认识许同学的父母。老师有时常到许同学家里闲聊。所以，我想老师是对许同学有所关照。

许文声同学和我很投缘。我和松辉是属于他圈子内的玩伴。我们跟文声玩耍也有遵守一个‘潜规则’的。他每天有两个时段他的母亲会监督他温习功课。这两个时段分别在下午放学后和晚餐后。在他温习功课的时段，我们这些玩伴不可出现在他的视线范围内，以免影响他学习的心情。

通常我们会在傍晚时分在培德校友会前面的羽球场玩耍。就在小四那年，我借用文声的脚踏车跌跌撞撞地学会骑脚车。週末我们会在文声家里后院打兵乓。有时週末晚上我们会去看一场电影。

文声在学校的成绩总是名例前茅。唯一能和文声分庭抗礼的是陈碧慧同学。有一回期考，文声觉得他所考的衛生试卷不符合他的要求。他深怕他的全年的成绩会被此试卷的分数扯下来。所以，考完试当天下午他立刻用脚踏车载我到教务处去窜改试卷的答案。我们在李瑞意老师的书桌上找到了我们的试卷后，马上蹓到门外的木瓜树下修改答案，然后将试卷放回原处。幸好当年没有闭路电视，不然后果不堪设想。

虽然那次考试我有跟随文声作弊，但是我的全年总成绩名次还是跌到十五名，而文声还是维持在前面第一名。

玩耍的小学教育
♂♀©®♡♢♧♥♦
今日的正规教育科目繁杂，老师填鸭式的教育，以及父母害怕孩子们输在起跑点，尽量在课余时间让孩子诸多的补习。学子们的童年被课本压得喘不过气来。他们的学习生涯很痛苦。

难怪有些父母宁愿每个月多花千余元马币将一个孩子送去非正规的学校去接受‘玩耍的教育’。

半世纪前，我们所接受的‘玩耍教育’每月只需交学费两块半。当时的学科项目少。老师很少给学生功课上的压力。父母也完全不理会孩子们在学校里的学习进度。

我们男生的学习态度很马虎，犹如做一日和尚敲一天钟。遇到难学、难懂的英语课程，干脆偷偷跑进厠所迴避。所以到了上中学的时候，我们认识的英语词汇少之又少，常常被中学预备班老师痛骂一顿；“Idiot! Idiot ! ”不绝于耳。

我们学习华语的态度也不见得好到那里。虽然小三那一年我们有学习华语併音，但是我们始终没有学会掌握它。反而还会取笑和模仿班上的“老马”(Lau Beh)同学卷舌头音。

记得五年级那年，我们的级任老师，蔡喜骏老师，曾经在壁报拦展示班上同学们优秀的大楷书法作品。不幸的是，我和一些同学的作品也被选中来展示作为同学们的负面教材。这是因为我们写字不专心，为了交差而草草了事。

六年级那一年我们被编排在英国人园丘医院医疗室被改造成课室上课，所以我们的课室比一般的课室长一倍多。我们的级任老师是王进昌老师。学年开始时，我因为矮小，所以被安排坐在前面第一排第三个位置。几个月后，我因为“坐立不安”，令他人起不必要的煩脑，而被王老师‘留放到’教室最尾端坐，目的是要让我在‘边疆’自生自灭。

在我还没有‘流放’以前，我们坐在前面的同学在上课时会刻意挑逗某两位同学，让他们彼此产生敌意，并鼓弄他们在该天下午学校补习过后在印度小学后面的草场来个决斗，好让我们作壁上观。这种玩意我们轮流上演;主角换人而已。

当年的非正规教育～老师讲故事～最为大家所津津乐道的。二年级时傅木桂老师讲‘武松打虎’。三年级时沈丽珠老师讲‘崂山七合’。五年级时，蔡喜骏老师讲‘水浒传’，而高璧煕老师则讲‘三门街’。这是唯一的时候同学们能静下来专心‘听课’。我们的邓长权同学就是因为听了高老师讲的‘三门街’的故事有所启发而对学习和研究中国文学产生莫大的兴趣。今天他能在文坛上作出不少的贡献，或许应该归功邓同学当年专心听高老师的课。今天他可以被称为当代马华知名的田园作家。

当年我们热爱上学，并不是因为我们热爱追求学术上的知识，而是在于学校能提供游戏的场所给我们。我们在不同的季节、不同的时间和不同的场合玩不同的游戏或球类活动：如跳高，跳远，乒乓球，篮球，足球，羽毛球，藤球 ，橄榄球和去小溪游泳。一般上，我们放学回家吃完午餐后就会重新回到学校来活动。

我们玩耍的小学教育是多么的写意啊！

A Blessed Gathering

♤♡♧♤♡♧♤♡♧♤

It's never be an easy thing for people to converge as most people would have diverged priorities and obligations that would hinder them to  attend a gathering. So, the effort  to gather all the friends or ex-classmates together is just a wishful thinking.

But to get some to meet together is definitely a "makan kacang putih" matter.  With this in mind, we had decided to proceed with a buffet lunch gathering at the Hotel Jen, Magazine Road, Penang, on November 10, 2015, when Mooi Eng had expressed a wish to meet up with her ex-classmates during her recent visit to her siblings in Penang.

Mr. Ng Huang Leng is always our patron every time we gather. This time around was no exception. He and his wife had duly accepted our invitation although we had let him down in our last aborted gathering due to poor response of participants.

Mr. Ng had been very closed to us as we were his pioneered batch of students when he started his teaching career. He was a student-friendly teacher. He seldom scolded us so much so that at times we tried to 'pull his leg' and to create jokes out of him.

I remember Mr. Ng had taught us Mathematics in our Form One class. In a lesson of Geometry, Mr. Ng showed us the steps to prove a certain theorem. As a normal practice, at the end of a proof, he would write 'Q.E.D.',the symbol to show that a proof was executed. Mr. Ng would always jokingly tell us that "  the proof was "Quite Easily Done."

Mooi Eng was very pleased to meet up with Mr. Ng as this was the second time she had met him after she left school forty years ago. Both of them had a good  time catching up with each other.

In this gathering I accidentally discovered ' a body language of mine' from a former classmate which I had never realised myself while I was a kid.

Mok Thye Choo(莫泰珠) was my neighbour at the side lane. She told me that she always saw me leaning against my mother whenever she was chatting with others in the neighbourhood. Was I so pampered then? I wonder.

Actually, most of us did not expect to have such a gathering in so short time a notice. We were also surprised to see a good turn up of a total of eighteen people, among them were a few first timers.

This gathering was a blessed one indeed as we could summon the help and cooperation of a few fellow classmates.  We counted ourselves as blessed souls who were able to catch up with one another. Our forefathers had always reminded and cautioned the old folks that " to meet others for another time could be just a luxurious and a far fetching matter." Either you cherish it now or you would have no chance to regret later.