BFMP #6 ~ Dr Smith Still Gives Me The Creeps!

For those who are old (or young!) enough to remember Dr Zachary Smith (Jonathan Harris) from the television series Lost In Space:  That guys still creeps me out!

I had to pleasure of watching the series again recently and I still find it refreshing even to this day.  I do not remember much of any of the series story lines but characterwise, Dr Smith leaves an impression. 

In season 1, episode 1 when he was first introduced popping out in the empty spaceship to reprogram the robot to sabotage the mission, the camera pans directly at his villaneous face.  One look at it and it was enough to bring back some memories of how afraid I was of this character when I was young.

For the record, the impact is not as great now as it was some 30 plus years ago but it is still enough to give me the heeby-geebies!

Ah, Dr Smith... what an impression you have left in my childhood.  Thanks for the creepy memories!

BFMP #5 ~ Still Missing Mom

February 10, 1976,  34 years ago to this day that mom passed on.  I was in studying in Year 5 that time and still vividly remember a few days prior to that day where I was brought home from school.  At that time I didn’t really see the severity of the situation although I knew that mom was already bedridden from her cancer (which I only found out about years later) and she was breathing with the assistance of an oxygen mask.  I was 11 at that time and at that age you do not really see the magnitude of the events that will eventually take place until it happens.

Mom was a housewife and as with all moms out there, a great cook.  I especially remember her prawn fritters which was fluffy and crunchy on the outside and a huge piece of prawn in the inside.  To be honest, recall as I might I cannot remember any of her other signature dishes but one thing for sure is that I never got hungry when she was around.

Mom also enjoyed her mahjong games with her circle of friends every other day and sometimes we would tag along when she goes for her mahjong sessions at her friend’s place or at the Rotary Club.  We would spend hours playing with the other kids while waiting for the mahjong sessions to end.  We had good fun but at times got bored waiting.      

I only noticed something was wrong with her health when she and dad started making trips to KL (we lived in Batu Pahat at that time).  It was for her medical checkups.  I think mom and dad made the conscious decision in not telling us what was happening as they knew we were too young to comprehend the severity of the situation.  Still they actually kept up a brave front for us.  I, for one was oblivious and thought all was hunky dory even though I knew deep down something was not right with her.

On that fateful day, it was somewhere during daytime.  In the house were many relatives and friends.  I was watching cartoons downstairs in the living room when we were summoned up to mom’s room.   There, she breathed her last breath and was gone forever.
I still remember what she last said to me – “Study hard”.

Where and what I am today is because of mom and dad.  I would have loved for her to see us all grow up and become what we are today.  I honestly think we grew up pretty decent and have had some success of our own.  Most importantly we grew up to be good people with a decent, honest jobs with families of our own.  She would have loved to see her grandchildren and maybe she is constantly keeping an eye on them.

We love you and miss you mom even after you have been gone for 34 years.    

BFMP#4 A Place Where Dreams Come True

Let’s fast forward to the present for my latest BFMP.  About a couple of weeks ago – Nov 30, 2009 to be exact, the family and I hopped on board the Hong Kong MTR at Jordan Station in Kowloon and headed over to Lantau Island to interchange to a special train to take us to Hong Kong Disneyland.

From the time as a little kid I had always wanted to visit Disneyland.  Growing up with Mickey and friends and all the Disney cartoons, it was not a matter of ‘when’ but ‘how’.  Thank God for Hong Kong and Air Asia that this was made affordable.  Even if it is not in the U.S of A, that’s ok as it is still Disneyland.

As we stepped into the Disney themed train, I knew that this was the start of a wonderful day.  And what a wonderful day it was.  This time of the year being the Christmas season made it all the more special.  Music filled the air as we made our way to the entrance.  Once inside the magical kingdom, it was what I had imagined as a little kid.  Music was everywhere creating the atmosphere and the first Disney characters that we saw was Goofy and Pluto followed by Mickey and Minnie.  Needless to say we had our pictures taken with them.  Would have wanted a picture with Donald but time did not permit.

Although it was a bit strange that Cantonese was the primary language used in the park but we got used to it time passed.  We had a good laugh though during the stage presentation of the Golden Mickeys when the master of ceremonies started speaking in Cantonese.

Main highlights of the day was the ‘Let It Snow – Christmas Parade’ which was excellent after all this was Disney!  Characters like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Ariel, the Toy Story characters and of course at last parade float there was Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto.  Santa made an appearance too.   The other highlight was the Fireworks display at night.  If you have seen videos of it, watching it ‘live’ is something else.  About 10 minutes of non-stop fireworks!  Couldn’t have ended the day on a better note.

November 30, 2009 – the day I felt like a kid again and realized a longtime dream.  And to top it all, the dream was realized with my wife and kids.  As cheesy as it sounds, dreams do really come true!  Cheers!!