A Tale To Remember

This interesting story which happened when I was a young boy. It has lingered in my mind for a long long time, over 50 years to be exact. I feel the time has come for it to be told.

During the early fifties, the “peranakan” community (to which I belong) in the Klang district area was substantially a large one.

It should be mentioned here that the said society, especially my many aunties including my mother were often fond of watching “Cantonese Stage Operas”.

One fine day, so it happened, a famous opera show was to be held in town. To be exact, it was happening at the Great Amusement Park, owned then by Shaw Organisation Capitol theater.

For those not knowing or having no inkling as to the whereabouts of the above, it’s located exactly where the “Store” supermarket is today.

As I said, the opera was not to be missed by auntie, my mum and their younger siblings. Clad in their best kebayas and sarungs, the entourage had to travel by bus from our home in 3rd mile Jalan Kapar to town.

Bus was the norm of transport those days. As men folks were busy at work then, these women folks had no other alternative.

When the bus arrived, auntie and all lined up. My auntie was a jolly, fat looking lady found boarding the bus extremely difficult.

Before they (auntie and mother) could even find a seat, the bus shoved off. Can you imagine what would happen to especially my aunt had she fallen?

To avoid disaster, my auntie looked around desperately for something to hold on. Leather straps and metal bars were located too high for her. Luckily (or unluckily) depending on how you look at it, there was sitting in the nearest seat to her, a young man with an Afro looking hair.

Call it “god-send” or whatever you wish, my auntie instinctively grabbed hold of the young man’s hair and held on for dear life.

The young man screamed in pain. The other passenger looked in horror. All looked in anticipation of something nasty happening.

But luckily, my aunties held on as if her life depended on it. She wasn’t going to let go.

Luckily, the driver then realised the commotion and stopped the bus instantly, thus preventing no one from getting hurt. My auntie apologised profusely for her actions.

By this time, the embarrassment and pain caused to the poor young Afro haired man had made him look like a cooked lobster. All’s well that ends well, so they say.

No one was hurt, only maybe, the young man’s ego perhaps.

So as we ponder over this interesting tale which happened so many years ago, let me remind you if you’re choosing between spotting an Ally-cats or Yul Brynner hairdo, go for the Yul Brynner outlook.

Not only is it cooler and money saving, but it might, who knows, save you lots of uncalled for embarrassment one day.

The main characters mentioned in this tale are already dead and gone but this story surprisingly remains.