Meeting Margie

Meeting Margie after Many Years

12th September 2008

Robson Heights Seafood Restaurant


The Girl Who Could Run


The day for meeting Margaret Rose Wong finally came round, after weeks of anticipation.


What would she be like? I hadn't seen her since her wedding dinner back when KL still had Toong Fong buses and Kum Leng was still Kum Leng and Jessy and I still held hands when we crossed the road.


I remember this little girl with the flying pigtails and her loud infectious giggles that often turned into roaring ha-ha-ha-s as our childish pranks degenerated into riotous fun.


I remember a girl who ran faster than her frame could carry her. Together with Mei Chun and Yuet Ho, we were the girls who ran for our houses and passed the baton and tried to outdo each other at high jump.


I remember a girl whose mother always wore the sarong kebaya and father was quiet whenever I went to her house. Her parents seemed pretty fierce and this girl seemed pretty docile.


Boy, did this girl run.


She ran so fast and so far. From the school by the sungai to a house on the waters of San Francisco Bay.


Yikes, Not Yankees!


When I walked into the restaurant all it took was the lady with chestnut-coloured curls to turn around and the familiar grin to bring us to back to where we had left off. We screamed and hugged and it was as if the years had never left.


You haven't changed! You still look the same! I was always wondering what happened to you and what you were doing! Yep, she still talks in the rapid-fire way that we haven't heard since some of us discarded the green pinafore with white polka dots.


Those were the days before Christian names became fashionable. When Rick was Kok Cheng, Florence was Khai Lan, Catherine was Yoke Chen, Connie was Chooi Ngor, Evelyn was Bee Li, Jessy was Siew Lee, Kellie was Mei Chun, Vickie was Yoon Ngan, Koon Yuin was Chicken Liver, Mike was Ngap Chai, Mun Fai was Mung Kai, Leong Poh Sing was Leong Sing Por, Chew Hong was Chew Hong... and Weng Choon was the quiet boy with the sharpener under the desk.


Oh how exotic it was to have a Margaret Rose Wong in the class.


Apparently Sensei and Taiko had wagered on her transforming into a typical American-size middle-aged woman, with a typical American-sized American man in tow. What a let-down. This couple didn't even have any fat to show for that bad American diet. And dang it, that girl just refused to look anywhere near her age. Life sucks.


Come to think of it, the duck who flew the coop and ended up somewhere in the boondocks called Bolton didn't pile on the pounds either. All those frogs in the batter and what-not and nothing to show for it? Life sucks bigtime.


Anyway, miffed that they were still the biggest dogs in the pound, Sensei and Taiko ordered a hot curry to even the score against those lousy Yankees. For good measure, they added bitter gourd and spicy brinjals. But Marge had done a good job Malaysianizing that mat salleh with roti canai and curry for breakfast everyday. This regular Malaysian celup didn't even sweat the stuff.


Rick, noting that Rose had said that Phil "can't drink", gleefully topped up Phil's glass. Didn't work either. He was too hard to floor.


Dinner was rounded off with some delicious moon cakes which Flo brought. I don't know if she knew how to cut them but she certainly didn't know how to place them onto the plates. In a deft move, Connie displayed her skills with the " loh mai kai upside down" stunt and voila – gave us an instant lesson on Serving Mooncakes for Dummies. (I'm only relaying this because when your cucu and cuci come along for mooncake festival in the future, you people can show off a little...)


Cinta di Cemetery


One day a woman was looking for a job. While not exactly down and out, she did have two kids to feed and put through college. Property accountant, the ad said. So she put on her running shoes and ran all the way to the place for an interview. It turned out to be an imposing looking building in a cemetery. This can't be the right place, she thought. Before she could ring the rusty bell, the door opened. C--r--e--a--k. She stiffened, feeling the rise of goose pimples. About to make the sign of the cross, she came face to face with the most killer-looking white apparition she had ever laid eyes on. At the back of her mind her mum's words echoed: Cha boh, be careful of the angmoh kui. Too late. She felt as if she was in a trance. Before she could turn on her heels, a pale hand reached out for her, its grasp strong and unyielding....


Hello, the apparition said, his hand shaking hers. You must be here for the interview? Y--e--s, she managed to blurt out. Follow me, he commanded. In a daze, she let the spirit lead her into the dark caverns, past endless rows of interred urns. Thankfully, she had the presence of mind to take a look at his feet. They were treading on the polished marble. She relaxed. As they sat face to face across the well-worn oak table, the lengchai angmoh smiled and said, "Hi, my name is Phil."


And that's how our Margie met her match.


Moral of the story: love can be found in the most unlively places.


Larry Goes Loony


Two nights before Mooncake Festival night, Larry was moonstruck. He dumped his beautiful young wife for a woman almost twice his age. Such is the power of our Empress Dowager from Hainan. Sitting pretty, Popo was clapping her hands to the music and having a great time. She rebuffed Taiko's attempts to get her to get up. Despite his assertions that he was cheated into marriage, we now know that he believes in the dictum: Make a move for the mother first before you tackle the daughter.


Back to Loony Larry. When Sensei had everyone rocking and rolling with "I saw her standing there", "Let's twist again" and the ladies sang "Tou tou mo mo" and "Cha cha ambo", Larry went berserk. He went straight to Popo and gyrated (as far down as his belly would allow) and yes, even jumped up and down, in front of her. As it was rather dark, I couldn't see whether he was also frothing at the mouth.


A full moon does strange things to certain people.Even the angmoh went amok and started jiving in front of Popo. Rick's contraband finally kicked in.


Dancing with Popo makes people happy. The sight of BB and Larry, Margie and Phil doubling over in laughter is simply prizeless. Phil, if you have video shots of crazy Larry, please share. An encore may never come our way unless we party on a full moon again.


Sensei Talks Sex and Taiko Talks Starch


Sensei before drinks:

I like women with big boobs.

While most of us sighed with relief, Taiko posted this to his buddy:

The question is do women with big boobs like you?


Sensei after drinks and holding up a banana:

My wife say my (rhymes with peanuts) is ....

(Sorry, too disgusting to repeat here, people)


I suspect he still hasn't gotten over his fixation with Miss Pillay. And the appearance of Baywatch Babe (his words, not mine) must have triggered his suppressed longings.


Taiko, endlessly pouring drinks:

You, ah, Margaret, always came to school in starched uniforms. All stiff and hard. I don't remember anything about you but I remember your baju, all white and hard.


Margaret Confesses


After 38 years, Margie came clean:

I had such a crush on Kok Cheng. He was so cute. But he was so snotty .

(His mum drove him to school but didn't give him a hankie? Not easy anyhow, with 13 snotty kids.)


This kid had a crush on a kid who had a crush on her starch.


Fear of Drowning


Yoke Chen and Margaret reminisced about how they went swimming with Mei Chun and almost drowned in the river. To this day, both are afraid to go swimming. Luckily for Margaret, Phil is a lifeguard as well for otherwise why would she dare to stay in a house on the sea?



Is It a Boat? It's the House that Phil Built!


We were taken online to check out Phil's floating home – a 3-storey house on water, which bobs up and down with the tide and with nocturnal activities. Like dancing, of course.


When not busy cooking curry, Margaret takes up the mop and does the three floors to stay in shape. For bigger muscles, she goes kayaking. As if all the sunset pak-toh walks with Phil on the 220-acre cemetery are not enough.


Besides noting our concerns about whether the house could sink if it's too heavy with stuff, Phil also assured us they do have regular toilets. So should any of you take up their standing invitation of a homestay, you can go:


1.

with your usual load of luggage and
2.

without worries about dropping into the ocean.