Revisitations (1)

Some friends remain yours... forever.

Friends whom you grow up with from school days stay with you all the days of your life and when they show up at some point of your life, you just glue together may it be 30 or 40 years later. One such friend is Fong Min ; though she is now addressed as Dr. Sandra Scott.

Sandra and my siblings grew up together when we went to school together. She used to pop over my place almost everyday after school for Por's good food and till today still reminisces about the good old times. She left for the UK in the 70s and establish a home of her own there and is now a proud mother of a daughter and son... Lucy and Simon. Husband Tony is a also a homey dad and dotes on the family. So, she's a contented and happy woman.

Each time when she shows up, we are bound to end up meeting my teacher , Ms Hyacinth.

We met up at Tropicana City Mall last Monday and I was glad to see my teacher again. If you know what I mean... the feeling is just there ; my teacher. She was my Form Four teacher and taught me English Literature. She was the lady behind the choir and the producer of " The Sound of Music" in those days and whenever she is around, there are bound to be sparks. By the way, she was instrumental in my reading on the Mills and Boon Series. We exchanged titles almost every week to save cost. She instilled the reading habit in me and when she read, I read. That's the legacy she left behind in my life. So she is very dear to me.
When I met her last week, we talked about the good old times. She mentioned some old classmates ; Sharifah Bibi and Halimah Ismail both of whom were old school friends. Sharifah used to sit in front of me in class and she was a smart girl. I remembered those evenings when I cycled to her house and we exchanged long conversations. I never saw her again after Form Five but they told me she's somewhere in Subang Jaya with 7 children ... when will I see her again ?

Fong Min and I could not resist going back to Muar where we grew up together. Quite naturally we landed up at our Alma Mater...Sultan Abu Bakar Girls' School. Oh that building is still standing tall after all these years and yes...I was in one of the classrooms up there in Form 3 when Mrs. Caroline Chua was my form teacher. I associate Mrs. Caroline Chua with discipline and we girls had to put our chairs under the tables each day before we left the classroom and no nonsense whatsoever. She was so prim and proper and a good teacher.

We made friends with the security lady of the school and she proudly told me the school in winning the various mural competitions was awarded a school bus ! How wonderful and she related that she was the master mind behind the paintings. She's a great artist and paints free hand without much effort. Her ambition ? To open an Art Gallery in the near future.

Good luck.

The school has expanded and we saw our library being converted into the school cooperative and the old staff room being turned into a memorial gallery. Impressive.

Coincidentally, we caught up with Fong Min's younger sister, Fong Fong. Believe it or not? She is a grannie to 9 kids ! Fong Fong used to be a school mate too and was a year my senior in school. Guess what ? She is fast on the track and used to co-partner me in the school relay team during the various sports meets. She had us in stitches when she recalled those days when she dreaded exams and hated studying. I remembered lugging my text books along in the midst of the runs for exams the next day whereas books did not interest her ; so she reiterated.
But look at her now...who cares about books ? She is a happy woman looking after the interests of her daughters and sons. Who needs anything else to be carefree and contented? I marvel at her simple outlook in life and when I asked her how come she is already a grandma to so many, she casually replied : " For my daughters, as long as they are of age ( I mean 20 to 22?) and asked to be married , they have my blessings!" What lucky girls ; mama says yes all the time ! I wonder at myself...

We also walked all the way down town running in between lanes to see whatever that was left in our memories of the days of old. We spotted a "buah cherry" tree and recalled our childhood days when we used to climb trees and pick the cherries ; so red and sweet. They really taste good.

Fong Min vaguely remembered the goodies that she has been dreaming about all the time in the UK...and of course who could forget the goodie below... radish in black sauce.

It was a long wait ; but after all these years, the wait was worth it. She can't go home to the UK without first tasting them. The vendor told us that fortunately he is still around. We used to get our radish goodie from his dad.



Hmm... just absolutely out of the world. The ones we get up here never hit his standard. Really, it was just so very palatable and unforgettable.





Her next pining...rice cakes with salted mustard. She kept describing them and finally I caught her meaning. Known as "chui kuih" in Teochew, they are just plain rice flour cakes savoury in taste.



When you were once from Muar, you can never forget those food. You may live anywhere in this universe but you still go hunting for them when you come home. That is roots. No wonder it has been proven over and over again that when you acquire a particular taste from young, it stays with you for life.

Later she shared that it was the best breakfast she ever had for the last decade.

But of course, Por and Kong took us for the Ah Pek Mee the next day and though the food seemed mundane since I have talked about them so many times, they never fail to thrill us. Yummy.

So much for old acquaintances and breakast.