My grand-uncle passed away this morning. He was 88 going on to 89 years old. He was the oldest living Victorian, which means a lot to me, from the institution that I love. He was really quite something, always coming to any party or function dressed not in pyjamas as some of the elderly do, but in a suit, always a grey suit, standing as erect as he could on his close-to-a-century-old shoulders. His passing signalled the end of an era, one which we all hoped to grow up under the protection of. My sincere condolences go out to his immediate loved ones.
I went to visit him twice in Changi General Hostipal, where he reluctantly went to, after adamantly refusing to go to Singapore General Hospital, seeing that a fair number of his loved ones passed on there, including his wife. The last words I ever heard him speak was, through his incessant, involuntary shaking and his pain, "Thank you for coming to visit." Even in midst of his own plight, he remained what a Victorian was brought up to be, a gentleman. He was a tough nut to crack, staying on at all our parties til one in the morning, drinking the brandy he was so fond of. At 88, he wrote in his diary everyday, about his comings and goings and notes about people he met. He walked to the market everyday, to buy tomatoes which he so strongly attributed his good health to, apart from brandy. He was a force unstoppable, or so he seemed to me.
In short, he's everything I want to be at his age: Proud, Strong, and Gentlemanly. I'm going to miss you, Lao Ku. Rest in Peace.
Unsurprisingly, this got me thinking 'bout a lotta stuff that's happened over the past few years. It's amazing how a person is reminded of his own mortality after a life close to his fizzes out. Relative or friend, it stings and shocks, and tells you that one day, you'd be facing this scenario too. A few years back, a string on suicides involving JC students took place, and I knew one of them. Well, not really knew, but just knew his existence in the world. Be that as it may, it was shocking to see someone that young, MY age, throw himself out of a window, problems regardless. The other case was even worse, when a highly promising VJC committed suicide over personal issues. What drives people to take such drastic measures, when the termination of life represents the ending of all they know? If the ending of a life can cause such pain and sorrow, what more the tragedy surrounding it?
With all that is great and blessed by God himself, I hope the world becomes a better place.
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4 comments:
In 1855, The American Party in Delaware passed an unpopular prohibition law that attempted to force total abstinence in Delaware. When the 18th amendment was passed by the U.S. Government, the Governor’s administration at the time was able to ratify it without much resistance because of the administrations reforming zeal. However, it was not popular with the people and Delaware was the 7th state to ratify the 21st amendment to repeal prohibition.
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albertjames
Viral Marketing
Hi albertjames,
Sorry if i misunderstand you, but what does this have to do with anything?
Probably spam comment dude : (
Anyway, I guess the pressure arising from the circumstances that the guys are in, before the event of tossing themselves off the ledge, is something that you and I will find really hard to comprehend. The problems probably seemed larger then themselves, and any hope of a future.
Yeah dude... Sigh.. Let's just be grateful for what life brings to us, yea?
=D
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