Our only surviving uncle, Pak Teh Khalid is a very strict disciplinarian in term of his choice of food and stringent daily physical exercise routine. He is also a very strict protocol concious uncle. With his pagoda T shirt or 'kancing peraq', he would go anywhere on earth. However when he goes for any medical or other official appointments, he will always put on his striped short sleeve shirt. High cholesterol content foods are entirely out of bound. Yet chicken chop is still his favourite food. To make him happy, his nephews would always give him a treat of chicken chop whenever he was in Kuala Lumpur or Ipoh.
One of the most interesting feature of Pak Teh, he could also changed his choice of forbidden food according to his own fancy. Fried beehoon was formerly one of his forbidden foods. Yet he began to consume the food again after his visit to his favourite nephew, Dato' Shamsul in Taiping. When they were up at Bukit Larut, Dato' Shamsul served him with his self cooked fried beehoon. Since there were no other foods available, Pak Teh has no choice except to consume the fried beehoon or otherwise he would go hungry for the whole evening. Maybe the self cooked fried beehoon of his nephew was very tasty, Pak Teh took a liking to fried beehoon until today. However he will only consume home cooked fried beehoon at his relatives' homes.
Although I am 12 years younger than him, but he is more physically fit than I am. When I was on the wheel chair at the hospital, he used to push me around. It was quiet an embarrassing situation for me as it looked awkward for an elder uncle to push a much younger nephew. He created havoc for me as he liked to push the wheel chair faster than the normal speed. He likes to brag as if he is the fittest senior on earth and he would be happy and merrier if ever his nephews and nieces would say so.
Although he is an uncle to us, but his behaviour was sometimes childish in nature. He was very happy and looking forward to celebrate his birthday anniversary. His birthday falls on the 29th. March and on that day this year his age was 75 years. Since he is a diabetic, it was quiet an achievement for him to be physically fit at 75 years.
Realising his psychological need for a birthday celebration, his wife, Mak Teh Gayah decided to have a high tea to celebrate his birthday on Monday, 30th. March 2009. Mak Teh could not prepare the celebration on the actual birthday i.e. 29th March 2009 as she has to go for a medical appointment at Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital. So naturally like a birthday child, Pak Teh kept reminding persistently to all his nephews and nieces about the proposed birthday celebration.
Sure enough, on that very day the families of his closed nephews and nieces came in full force. There were the families of Mak Chik Sayang, Ati, Puat, Wan Mansur and mine. Pak Adik in fact cycled to Lorong Kelompang while Puat took time off from his busy schedules. There were varieties of foods that Mak Teh has prepared such as Laksa Siam, fried koeteow and other favourite dishes of Haji Yaacob's family. My daughter in law, Marini who does not eat keoteow and Laksa Siam was very grateful to Mak Teh as Mak Teh has prepared fried beehoon specially for her. I was also very delighted as Mak Teh has also prepared my favourite kacang kuda.
It was indeed a very enjoyable evening especially for Pak Teh, the birthday boy. All his nephews and nieces happily handed him his birthday presents which amounted nearly RM 300.00 in cash. However we were a bid depressed when Mak Teh uttered her feelings that the high tea would be her last since her medical conditions might hinder her from hosting Pak Teh 76th. birthday. The saddest of all would always be Mak Chik Sayang with her forever free flowing tears. We do really hope that her melancholy feelings would not materialised at all. Insya Allah. Wishing a happy 75th. birthday to Pak Teh and we do sincerely hope that he would be able to celebrate his 76th birthday still standing strong.
No comments:
Post a Comment