My Memoirs (Part 1)

How times flies!

My memory flashes through just like yesterday. It was in the late 1950’s, in my earliest childhood, then staying along Chulia Lane, a row of pre-war houses – sandwiched between Tong Kong coffee shop and the Sin Keng Onn , a Hainanese restaurant. I still remembered pedaling the tin made 4 wheel toy sedan through the corridors on the upper 5-foot way pavement and hooting away the rubber stud horn to all those who stands in my way. It was also during this period, this ‘lang ting tang’ man comes around singing your fortune for a few cents. (Many also known him as Tan Tong Tong)

I guess, I was then 4-5 years of age enjoying my childhood and without a care and worries in this much materialist world. Born in the Independence year, it was during the curfew period where my dad had to bring mama to the maternity hospital for her delivery. I had 3 other siblings. Being second in the family, I had an elder brother and two younger sisters

During this time, Piu Pak (Grandma’s brother-in-law) used to buy toys for brother & 1 almost every other night. Always buy two toys at one go, for if not, brother and I would always fight over for it. Be it a toy wooden sword or a mechanical wind up toy car. To this day, my brother can still vividly remember me crying over the broken toys murmuring ‘mou nan mou need’ (in Cantonese) which virtually translated like ‘not cracked, not broken’.
Our toys buying day’s ends abruptly when Piu Pak announced that he wanted to go over to ‘Park Hoi’ (Butterworth) to look for work and that is the last we heard of him.

Grandma (Dad’s mom) used to sell bananas to vend away her time, pushing her 4 wheel wooden cart to the near by Central Market at the Carnarvon Street and Campbell Street junctions. Her favorite site is in front of Ghee Heong, the dim sum shop, by the road side (Campbell Street) just opposite the Market. As a kid, I like to trot along together with her to the Market. And many a times we used to ‘chow kwei’ to get away from the council officers who came running after the traders and Grandma, being considered an obstruction traders along the ever busy market place.. In the afternoon, Grandma would shift to another site down the road near the Boon Wah textile shop. At night, she would sell her fruits along Chulia Street, which is the main road. Those days, I can still remember, the City Council bus (Tram) still run on rail by Double Decker which later evolves to free driving by single Decker bus.
Grandma, being illiterates would show the same exact amount of coins to the passing sailors, who asked ‘how much’ when pointing to the bunch of bananas they wish to buy.

To continue.....