Unfortunately, I never had the chance to sit on either of my grandfather's lap to hear his stories. My maternal grandfather died when I was very young and, truth be told, I still don't even know his name (other than the surname Chia).
I have better memories of my paternal grandfather, Khoo Seng Kit, who lived in Lorong Puspa (it's no longer around) in Pasir Panjang. But living in Pulau Bukom growing up, I had few encounters with him -- partly because my mother did not have pleasant experiences when, as a young bride, she lived there with my father and before he got his job as a Shell employee.
ST journalist Corrie Tan is luckier. She wrote a recent piece "Telling stories keep history alive", in which she said she got to hear her grandpa's stories!...
Well, what I did manage to find were pictures of my grandfather Khoo Seng Kit, my grandmother and an old Khoo family photo (I like my dad's choice of tie!):
Postscript 1: I did find, from an old email sent by my late brother Tee Chuan, this nugget about my grandfather Khoo Seng Kit:
Although he was not educated he had an aura of wisdom around him and advised me that whatever country or religion we overseas Chinese might adopt we should adhere to our Chinese rules on culture and tradition.
Postscript 2: Something else I remembered... my grandma had small, bound feet!
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