The Wild Side of An Old Man

Usually, I would try to post before the clock strikes 12. Maybe I feel that just to not to confuse myself over how many entries that I wrote per month but as to make make it a habit to post one per day. So, if this month has 31 days, it would be 31 entries. But since I started out on the 9th, I should have a maximum of 23 entries or so.

Usually, a man or a woman who go depressed or feeling lonely when their soul mate or their spouse goes of early than them. That's what I believed but for my old man, I was surprised to think that it is not what I believed. This week marked the 100th day of my granny's passing and it is a Chinese custom for all family members to pray as to mark the end of the mourning period. And after that, a family member will only have to pray at least twice a year, one on first Lunar day of Chinese New Year, the other would be on All Souls Day in April. (known as Ching Beng).

I spoke to my old man last Thursday while I was having my meal before watching the premiere of An Inconvenient Truth. But that's not the point. I was totally impressed of how he manage to pick up the pieces shattered and moved on. Today he exhibited the youth in him. It is like being out of the cage after a long time being restrained by a external force, most probably granny.

While she was alive, there are things that he had to do away as to accommodate her. She was fussy, making all the excuses that we all had enough of. Today, he was kind of being adventurous. Besides providing him the help he needs, he wanted to try new things, wanted to go around and so on. For instance, he wanted to try cakes, coffee and varieties of new food. He wanted to go out and enjoy the outdoors. He wanted to relax, stop by a coffee shop. He became more or less excited already. He's like being free again after a dormant period. He knows that he's approaching the twilight of his life and wants to enjoy it while it lasts.

See, he had been through many things. He was in World War II, in the Emergency period. He told me that he had a stray bullet grazed across his chest while he was serving as an officer in Cameron Highlands. He wanted to visit, seek lost acquaintances. That's why we are planning to make a Christmas trip in Cameron Highlands this year end. He even went to the rural areas like Lenggong and met the Ong brothers, Ong Ka Ting (Housing Minister) and Ong Ka Chuan (MCA Sec. Gen) when they were kids. He met numerous old celebrities in the past. I guess it's a beautiful life for him. Thank youuuuuu SIR! (I mean God.. :) )

But when I noticed such things in him, I began to make comparisons of him with Captain Bertram Willes Brooke - the Tuan Muda of Sarawak (pic) (1876-1965). I mean, he's a wily man, not like the fool brother of his (Vyner), willing to put duties first ahead of family and enjoyed his remaining years quite well. No, that's only the first parallel. Grandma was like Bertram's wife, Gladys Palmer (1884-1952) - prone to illnesses, but has personalities like her. Sadly, though, she didn't last long as just as grandma does.

After Gladys died, he managed to carry on and savored the remaining moments with his youngest daughter, Lady Anne Bryant (2nd wife of historian Sir Arthur Bryant). I tried to make some sense out of it. Is in that a man's fate is determined the prominent DNA of either the mother or the father of the person? I mean, should the mother die at the age of say 75, will the child, the daughter die around that age in the future? I mean, does the prominent DNA that we carry gives us the hint that we keep searching for? How do we know that my prominent DNA was from your mother or your father?