My description of him in the last paragraph may have gotten you to think he was a very serious man who always told stories. But no, he is actually a very down-to-earth person. For instance, he would use to go jogging everyday and I would follow him walking all around youth park where monkeys would inhabit the trees in it and often we would stop look at them. He would sometimes tell me with a slight giggle that they are my friends just waiting for me to go play with them for I was once a very mischievous boy, so mischievous till the extend that people would literally call me a monkey. ha ha. Those days!.. And so there were times that I did not go along with him to jog and he would come home with some goreng pisang and with a smile tell me " eh, Just now while I was jogging, one of your monkey friends came up to me and asked me "where is that little boy that follows you often? He looks just like me". And so I would say "Ah Kong...... stop it". and he would laugh and laugh and laugh... I laughed too.. and sometimes I would still wish he is still around for me to be laughed at by him. haha. So and yea. My grandfather was very loving to us. He always made sure we had the best of things. Like getting me a Nintendo because I looked bored in the house, get me goreng pisang, stuff like that. And even though he is gone, I can still never forget his smile and his laughter. My dad and I often share with each other about dreams we would have of him. And they were all mostly happy dreams of him.. I thank God now that he was a man who always made me happy. I am glad to have had an Ah Kong like him. He was a blessing.
James Ooi Soon Kiam
1932-2003