Xfresh Archive: Family History (it's a long one)

Location: Where else can I be?
Mood-of-the-day: Wistful *sigh*

After an almost fortnight's of daily postings, I'm running outta things to write. Not a writer's block, just an empty shell. No really, I'm all dried up. If you don't believe me, then you must be my mom. I've used this excuse for why I do homework at school and never at home. She said my head isn't an empty shell, just missing. Hah! She's the one who left her registry file on the car last month and drove off stupidly. We had to drive back to MPPJ building and pick up the paper pieces on/by the roadside.

Well, to compensate for today's lack of creativity, I'll have to make do with some of my existing stuff from the Forums. Today, as titled, it's about my family history. I've posted this one in Malay under the Bicara forum. Sadly, I could only get my background just as far as my grandparents. My mom's extended family is so big and scattered that it's hard to get accurate facts. My dad's family, on the other hand, is so small and isolated, I could hardly get any facts.

Let's see, my mom is from Johor and is 3/4 of Java heritage, but she only speaks broken Javanese. My grandfather was a headmaster of a primary school for children and teaches adults how to read. So he was rich, one of the first people to buy a car. He drives very, very fast since the roads in Johor back then were very, very empty and full of cattle and carts.

When the Japanese invaded, my grandfather stayed strong and fought hard to maintain his prestige position. The Japs gave him a job; learn to read and speak Japanese and teach it to all his students. That way, he won't have to work break-bone in the fields with the other villagers. He still speaks Japanese fluently and, about last year, taught my cousin, Unah, who was furthering her studies in that country.

He's 80 now, very healthy and even today, drives like a Schumacher in his tiny Kancil. He puts a P sticker (even though he's been driving for over 50 years) just to warn people to get out of his way. He's now a small-time farmer and volunteers regularly in the nearby surau.

My dad's family is a mystery. In fact, every since my nek-wan passed away, the family had been quite estranged. They're like the groom's family in My Big, Fat, Greek Wedding. But I do know that they're all 100% malay and owns various plantations.

The biggest mystery is my dad's dad, who ran away from his home to Singapore and became a police officer. All I know why he did so was because he didn't want to be a farmer. His education was religious school up to Standard 3, so it wasn't easy in the British controlled Singapore's police force. But he taught himself English by reading and memorizing the road signs and with help from his fellow officers.

I heard that his officers were impressed by his determination that they sponsored his advance English classes. He worked his rank up to sergeant. After the Japs and the British left, he moved back to Tanjung Malim with only the shirt on his back and enough money to buy some land. He dreamed of a durian plantation of his own, and lived off his pensions as he waited for the trees to grow.

Unfortunately, the new Malaysian government forced him to move because the Communist Party was on the loose by the drones, hidden in the jungles. Food was hard, as every sugar/rice/canned good were counted and exploding bombs were regular. My grandfather, kept his head and make sure that all his kids get education, including sending my dad to English school.

My grandfather was old when he got married and passed away peacefully when my dad was 18. His durian plantation dream had only then started to bring fruit. As a tradition every Aidilfitri, the whole family would actually gather and share all the durians, which is, I can honestly say, one of the best in the Klang Valley. Personally to me, though I've never met him, his best legacy is the English language itself.

Signed: *Ophie - "It's my empty shell day and yet this the longest blog post ever!"-