Hey everyone,

I am Guohao, a new member to this club. I am glad to be part of this club to spread the joy and love to old folks; while doing so, we are contented and happy ourselves, too, for being able to share the joy with other participating members.

19th June was my second day of volunteer work with the club. Through my brief encounters with these old residents, I am reminded of the nostalgic moments I shared with my late grandpa when I was young. I was barely primary three when he was still around. He spoke mainly in Henghua, a variation of the more common dialect Hokkien.

A quiet man with a wry sense of humour , he took particular joy in making fun of me since I could not discern what he said when he spoke. Mr Tan, a resident from block 61, mirrored my grandpa in some ways.

Quiet as he was, he would not hesitate to tell tales of his past. Age and years of illness had tormented him, but could not steal away the fact he was once an avid marathoner, body builder, brave world war 2 fighter against the japanese and in every sense, a proud Singaporean.

People born under such war circumstances underwent many untold hardships and took pride in who they were, what they did and cherished what they owned. And for the stories I missed out from my grandpa, I would not want to miss out from these old residents who had tales of their own to share. And so, in that little cozy unit of Mr Tan, we recounted tales of his dashing and heroic days. He has also been given an English name by Wen Hui; Johnny.

To end this post, I will share a quote from the movie Ip Man 2. It is a value that strikes chord with lessons I picked from my late grandpa and from encounter with Mr Johnny Tan. It is nothing spectacular, but nonetheless deeply meaningful.

'人的地位有高低之分，但是人格不能有贵贱之别‘

Guohao :)
23/06/10