Thursday, October 05, 2006

gramp

Chanced upon this a few nights ago on Channel 5. The final story of the series, this was a story describing how the relationship between a boy and his grandpa developed when they were forced to live together. The grandson, a chubby bespectacled pampered brat, had never met his grandpa till then, and the old man's world of a run-down apartment with worn furniture, old-fashioned tv, and a living made out of collecting old items to sell at flea markets was utterly alien to him. He hated the situation, and looked upon the grand dad with disdain, and had no qualms of expressing his sentiments. "Why you so stupid?!" was his pet phrase to the hapless old man, who tried ways and means to win him over.

Of course, the story eventually went that the boy finally learnt to appreciate his grandfather's love for him, and the ending was the typical 'aww, he learnt his lesson' type. It was a simple plot, with not much twists and turns that were much of a surprise. But scenes from this story had me tearing at several points - it was heart-wrenching seeing how hard the grandfather tries, with the little savings he had, and what meagre possessions he had, to buy things just to make his granson happy, or like him. Only to be met with repulsion, and the blatant display that the child was ashamed of him. Ouch.

While it reminded me of
this other film which I wanted to but never got round to catching, it made me think of my own gramps as well. Frankly I had very hazy memories of him, as he had passed away when I was still a slip of a kid. Yet, I still feel warm and fuzzy inside, remembering what little I can of times with him. Me the lil midget who stuck to him, lil feet tottering after him all day long when my parents went to work - the one who taught me how to speak teo chew (which was all forgotten after he was gone, due to lack of practice), and roared with laughter at my guileless comments.

Strange that memories may fade, but the fondness remains. I remembered bawling my eyes out at his funeral, much to the amazement of my aunts and uncles, that despite my age, I could grasp the fact that he was gone forever. Even I surprise myself, that I can still feel that immense sense of loss to this date.

And till now, I still miss him.

3 comments:

yuling said...

i watched the way home some years back. secretly teared a little, and realised i wasnt the only one. go rent! :)

Anonymous said...

a little bit of my heart died when my grandpa passed away this year.

hazy memories for you, but i'm sure the warmth remains.

b.muse said...

Yuling: Yup yup will do.. :)
It was shown on tv not too long ago but missed it too. :p

imp: Very true.
Nice that you had so many years of memories of ya grandpa! =)