My Gong Gong (Grandpa) passed away on Sunday afternoon. He had been struggling with Parkinsons' Disease, kidney problems and heart conditions over the past 4 years, so i think it is a relief for him that he has gone home with the Lord so that he no longer needs to suffer. I recalled that when I first saw him upon my return from UK in 2005, it pained me to see my previously burley jolly granpa who had loved to eat, to be reduced to a bed-ridden grandpa who had to be tube-fed.
I remember my Gong Gong with much fondness, and i think my brother would agree with me that he is a wonderful Gong Gong:
He loved to eat and could often eat more than two bowls of rice during his prime days. His favourite food included turtle soup, which he never failed to buy two packets for us kids (because we love it too) whenever he patronised his favourite stall at Macpherson market. He loved pepper crab too as well as Yong Tao Fu.
I remember that my Gong Gong also loved his beer. However, he drank beer differently from others. He would ask for lots of ice cubes and pour the beer over the cubes. There's probably more ice cubes than beer in terms of density ratio...i supposed he liked his beer diluted...
I remember him bringing me and my bro to sit the SBS double decker bus when it was first launched! It was such an enjoyable excursion where we could for the very first time travel on a moving object and have such a broad view of the Singapore roads...those days, there were no aircon buses, and i remembered the wind blowing through our hair and us chattering with glee, as we excitedly moved from one front row seat to the next at the 2nd deck of the double-decker bus.
I remember that my Gong Gong loved to play chinese chess and i remembered him playing with my bro.
I remember him using the abacus to calculate his monthly expenditure as he used to be in charge of the operating budget in the huge household of my extended family
I remember that he used to smoke quite a bit before his heart condition came up and there was once when the burning cigarette butt accidentally fell on my arm and i screamed in pain. He looked frantically sorry and immediately snuffed out the cigarette.
I remember that whilst my Gong Gong loved his grandchildren, he sometimes seemed rather harsh at his sons (its another story with his only daughter, the youngest of his seven children, whom he obviously doted upon). He would have low level of patience with them and would often chide them "Cao4 Huai3" ("smelly little fellow" in Teochew), when they made him angry over little things, like making him wait for more than 10 minutes before picking him up for dinner outside! But his anger quickly subsided at the sight of good food on the dining table! He personified the term "a hungry man is an angry man"!
I remember that my Gong Gong was also short in temper to my Ma Ma (granny). However, whilst they would often bicker, i remember their deep love for one another. When one was ill in the hospital, the other would stay up with him/her. We celebrated their 50th anniversary of Golden Wedding about 16 years back, and i remember the satisfied look of joy on their faces when we took the family photo at a studio...together with all 7 of their children, 7 of their children's spouses and 15 grandchildren. To date, most of his grandkids are married, and he has 3 great-grandchildren (one of whom is Isaac).
I love my Gong Gong. I had actually already started missing him 4 years ago when he was sick. But thank God for the hope of seeing him again in Heaven one day. Rest in peace, Gong Gong.
I remember my Gong Gong with much fondness, and i think my brother would agree with me that he is a wonderful Gong Gong:
He loved to eat and could often eat more than two bowls of rice during his prime days. His favourite food included turtle soup, which he never failed to buy two packets for us kids (because we love it too) whenever he patronised his favourite stall at Macpherson market. He loved pepper crab too as well as Yong Tao Fu.
I remember that my Gong Gong also loved his beer. However, he drank beer differently from others. He would ask for lots of ice cubes and pour the beer over the cubes. There's probably more ice cubes than beer in terms of density ratio...i supposed he liked his beer diluted...
I remember him bringing me and my bro to sit the SBS double decker bus when it was first launched! It was such an enjoyable excursion where we could for the very first time travel on a moving object and have such a broad view of the Singapore roads...those days, there were no aircon buses, and i remembered the wind blowing through our hair and us chattering with glee, as we excitedly moved from one front row seat to the next at the 2nd deck of the double-decker bus.
I remember that my Gong Gong loved to play chinese chess and i remembered him playing with my bro.
I remember him using the abacus to calculate his monthly expenditure as he used to be in charge of the operating budget in the huge household of my extended family
I remember that he used to smoke quite a bit before his heart condition came up and there was once when the burning cigarette butt accidentally fell on my arm and i screamed in pain. He looked frantically sorry and immediately snuffed out the cigarette.
I remember that whilst my Gong Gong loved his grandchildren, he sometimes seemed rather harsh at his sons (its another story with his only daughter, the youngest of his seven children, whom he obviously doted upon). He would have low level of patience with them and would often chide them "Cao4 Huai3" ("smelly little fellow" in Teochew), when they made him angry over little things, like making him wait for more than 10 minutes before picking him up for dinner outside! But his anger quickly subsided at the sight of good food on the dining table! He personified the term "a hungry man is an angry man"!
I remember that my Gong Gong was also short in temper to my Ma Ma (granny). However, whilst they would often bicker, i remember their deep love for one another. When one was ill in the hospital, the other would stay up with him/her. We celebrated their 50th anniversary of Golden Wedding about 16 years back, and i remember the satisfied look of joy on their faces when we took the family photo at a studio...together with all 7 of their children, 7 of their children's spouses and 15 grandchildren. To date, most of his grandkids are married, and he has 3 great-grandchildren (one of whom is Isaac).
I love my Gong Gong. I had actually already started missing him 4 years ago when he was sick. But thank God for the hope of seeing him again in Heaven one day. Rest in peace, Gong Gong.
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