In memory of
An uncle close to my family passed away several days before chinese new year. It's been almost 3 weeks now.
He was third in the family of 12 siblings, my dad being number 10. The first two older brothers also recently passing not more than 5 years ago I think.
What made this different was that we spent time together, simply through chores like doing the dishes and guiding me in my homework. Especially in Mandarin. He was an accountent, and talked about using his booklet which contained a table to calculate exponentials (when I had log and ln, and inverse log in my math homework).
He had often traveled to China town in Singapore looking for teapots, and other less valuable knick knacks which he would put together to make a collectible. Something of an art connoisseur, his house would be akin to a museum of recent chinese history, with paintings, vases and calligraphy brushes which appealed to his cultured taste.
He apparently enjoyed only expensive whiskey too, not that he drank when I was around, since my parents are tee tolers.
One of the most impressionable memories, was that he always had an arowana "dragon" fish he raised, and fed tiny crickets or frogs to. The majestic ferocity of these fresh water kings made them swish back and forth restlessly, but still swim near their owners hand to be patted at their whim. Shimmering scales gave off a myriad of scintillating reflections, usually aquamarine to grassy hay in hues as the silver-green aerodynamic bodies would pace back and forth in their tanks.
My third uncle also taught me to defuse a tense situation, which both my strong willed parents were prone to be escalating. He was a good man, and though he grew up in a rough neighborhood in singapore's early days, I never once saw him spit, cuss or swear at anyone.
Oh, and he liked ham sandwiches I think, which was kinda rare for his race and generation.
He was third in the family of 12 siblings, my dad being number 10. The first two older brothers also recently passing not more than 5 years ago I think.
What made this different was that we spent time together, simply through chores like doing the dishes and guiding me in my homework. Especially in Mandarin. He was an accountent, and talked about using his booklet which contained a table to calculate exponentials (when I had log and ln, and inverse log in my math homework).
He had often traveled to China town in Singapore looking for teapots, and other less valuable knick knacks which he would put together to make a collectible. Something of an art connoisseur, his house would be akin to a museum of recent chinese history, with paintings, vases and calligraphy brushes which appealed to his cultured taste.
He apparently enjoyed only expensive whiskey too, not that he drank when I was around, since my parents are tee tolers.
One of the most impressionable memories, was that he always had an arowana "dragon" fish he raised, and fed tiny crickets or frogs to. The majestic ferocity of these fresh water kings made them swish back and forth restlessly, but still swim near their owners hand to be patted at their whim. Shimmering scales gave off a myriad of scintillating reflections, usually aquamarine to grassy hay in hues as the silver-green aerodynamic bodies would pace back and forth in their tanks.
My third uncle also taught me to defuse a tense situation, which both my strong willed parents were prone to be escalating. He was a good man, and though he grew up in a rough neighborhood in singapore's early days, I never once saw him spit, cuss or swear at anyone.
Oh, and he liked ham sandwiches I think, which was kinda rare for his race and generation.
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